


Miraculous Mystery Skulls

by Eternal_Phantom, Providentially_Demonic



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cat Puns, Crossover, F/M, Found Family, Identity Reveal, If you're looking for Gabriel redemption, Multi, Puns & Word Play, seriously all the puns, you won't find it here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2019-11-19 04:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 64,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18130664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Phantom/pseuds/Eternal_Phantom, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Providentially_Demonic/pseuds/Providentially_Demonic
Summary: On their honeymoon in Paris, the City of Lights, the trio of Vivi, Lewis and Arthur encounter more than sightseeing… in the form of monsters, supervillains and a pair of teen superheroes. Sometimes, miraculous things can happen, when you least expect it.(A Mystery Skulls/Miraculous Ladybug crossover event)





	1. Strays on the Balcony

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This all started with this [fic](http://phantoms-lair.tumblr.com/post/154926114976/i-do) by Eternal_Phantom (phantoms_lair on tumblr) and the silly idea of them running into Chat Noir and Ladybug while there. It grew…
> 
> It’s a tale of heroes, miraculous, found family and more (with a healthy dose of puns). Co-created and written with assistance from Eternal_Phantom, so she deserves some of the credit and a lot of the blame! :P

**First Arc: _a Spellcaster, a Ghost and a mechanic walk into ~~a bar~~ Paris_**

 

“Mmmnn?” Arthur stirred from sleep, aware that something was different.  Lewis was warm beside him, but holding himself absolutely still, head cocked as if listening to something. There was an absence on his other side, cool sheets indicating that they has been vacant a while.

Lewis laid a finger across his lips and inclined his head toward the balcony doors of their hotel room.  There were voices out there and only one of them was Vivi’s.

Arthur strained to hear, but it wasn’t until Lewis gently cupped the side of his face, fingers too warm against his skin, that he could hear clearly. Lewis must have had a deadbeat eavesdropping, and was channeling it to him through his touch.

“ — not safe here, ma'am.” The voice was young but spoke perfect English, though accented in a way that said it was not their first language.

Another voice, feminine and equally as young, spoke in French. Through Lewis, he could get a sense of the words.  "Something doesn’t feel right about this. It doesn’t quite feel like an—” Arthur could not understand the last word and knew it wasn’t one Lewis knew either.

The first voice replied in French. “It doesn’t smell like one either, but it’s weird. Not— not human. It smells like a fire, almost. But one with something cooking on it. But it doesn’t smell at all like—”

Vivi had obviously had enough of a conversation she could only partially understand. "I think you should tell me what you think is going on to bring a cat burglar and a— a  _spotted fire hydrant_  to my hotel room at this hour.  And preferably before my husbands wake up.”

“What did she just call me—?!” The feminine voice scaled up a notch. “And are you sure she even speaks English right, because it sounds like she’s uses the wrong possessive. A plural one!”

“Milady, calm down.” The first voice entreated.

“Waiting for an explanation,” Vivi said, her tone just this side of icy.

Arthur figured he should try and defuse the situation. He rose from the bed, Lewis getting up with him and donning his sunglasses.

Clad only in sleep pants and a white t-shirt (sloppily knotted over the stump of his left shoulder), Arthur padded to the balcony doors. Lewis remained behind him, a hand on his scarred shoulder. It was both support and a way for Arthur to know what was being said. He appreciated Lewis’s thoughtfulness.

He stepped through the gauzy curtains and into the cool night air. Vivi, clad in a hotel bathrobe over her sleep shorts, had her hands on her hips and an annoyed expression. She was confronting— well, Arthur wasn’t sure who they were supposed to be, besides awfully young to be perched on the balcony railing at half past two.

The boy, with a tumble of unruly blond hair, was dressed in a very feline themed black suit that looked like leather but was clearly not, and crouching on the rail with deceptive ease. Beside him was a girl, all in red with numerous black spots. Her hair was pulled back into two ponytails and she was staring at Vivi with a mutinous expression. Both were masked with half masks and the boy held a baton in clawed gloves. The girl didn’t appear to be armed but Arthur had his doubts about that.

“Vivi?” Arthur kept his tone light. “Who are your guests?”

Vivi’s grin was sharp as glass. “I found a couple of strays.”

“Vivi,” Lewis’s expression was one of mild curiosity, and even the rebuke barely qualified as one.

Vivi’s cheeks puffed out in a frustrated sigh. “Dipped if I know. They popped up when I wandered out for a breath of fresh air and only one of them speaks English. He’s been going on about us being in danger.”

~~~~~

“We believe we sense an akuma in here, and we need to purify it,” Chat explained in English.

It was like a switch flipped, the blue woman went from confused to aggressive. Chat was fairly certain she’d been empty-handed, but suddenly there was a frost-tinged baseball bat in her hands. “You can’t have him,” she hissed.

Ladybug and Chat leapt back, Ladybug shooting out her yoyo to try and pull the bat out of her hands. In response the large man seemed to suddenly to catch fire, especially his hair and hands.

“Their weapons are magic, Arthur! Stay back!” The lady called out, and the one armed blond took a step back, but seemed unwilling to leave.

Chat looked over the fiery guy. He was obviously the akumatized one, but there was no obvious weapon for the akuma to be hiding in. The most likely thing would be the golden heart he wore prominently, so that what he was aiming for. His lady was tied up with the bat lady, so it was up to him.

~~~~

Arthur felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw the presumably magical claws aiming for Lewis’s anchor. He dashed back into the room, looking for something— anything—  he could use as a weapon. His eyes fell on a screwdriver he was using for some arm repairs and he grabbed it, not noticing the dark butterfly that landed on the screwdriver as he did.

_Your lovers need protecting. I will give you the power to save them, Loose Screw, and all you have to do is bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses._

~~~~

_“Get the **fuck**  out of my head!”_

The battle on the balcony froze at the cry. Lewis and Vivi rushed into the room, with Chat Noir and Ladybug right on their heels. Arthur was clutching a darkly glowing screwdriver, the Hawkmoth mask around his face. However, rather than transforming, he was thrashing around, shouting obscenities at the voice in his head.

“He’s fighting it off.” Chat Noir said in wonder. He’d never seen anyone fight off Hawkmoth.

“He can’t fight forever,” Ladybug said grimly. “We need to get to the screwdriver.”

“Artie, hold on.” Lewis grabbed Arthur when he started banging his head against the wall and hugged him tightly to keeping him from hurting himself.

“The akuma’s in the screwdriver,” Chat said in English. “We need to break it so Ladybug can purify it.”

Vivi shot him a suspicious look, but turned to Lewis. “Hold his arm out so the screwdriver’s extended.”

Lewis did so and Vivi brought up her bat, frost gathering on the edge, and slammed it down. The screwdriver shattered with a release of dark power and a butterfly oozing corruption fluttered out. Ladybug snapped it up as Arthur slumped over, no longer fighting the possession.

“Did I hurt  _anyone?”_ Arthur asked weakly.

“No, you fought it off completely. I’ve never seen anyone fight off an akuma before.” Chat explained.

“That was what you called an akuma?” Vivi asked.

“It’s what an akuma is, a butterfly tainted by Hawkmoth and used to turn people into monsters.”

“Oh,” Vivi bit her lip. “In Japan it means something different…”

~~~~

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” Ladybug said softly, releasing the purified butterfly.

“It’s looks like there’s been a bit of a linguistic misunderstanding.” Chat said softly.

“But your English is nearly perfect.” She was honestly impressed that the carefree Chat was so fluent in a second language.

“Not English, Japanese.” he explained. “In Japan  _‘Akuma’_  means a fire spirit, in particular one with fiery hair and eyes,” They looked at the large glowing-eyed figure whose hair was still flickering. “When I said we were here to purify one, she thought I was saying we were here to exterminate her husband.”

~~~~

Arthur sagged to the floor, his legs too shaky to hold him. Lewis knelt with him, still cradling Arthur’s shoulders.

Vivi rushed over. “Arthur!”

He dredged up a smile for her. “ ’M okay, Vi. Just shaken up. That was—”

Vivi squished him to her in a tight hug. "You fought it off, love. You did great.”

The cat-suited boy dropped into an easy crouch. “Forgive the misunderstandings. I’m called Chat Noir. My lady, Ladybug, and I defend Paris from a villain called Hawkmoth. The Akuma are his. He manipulates people with them, as he attempted to do just now.” He explained in English.

Vivi only glanced at him, most of her attention on Arthur.

“To be honest, we have never seen anyone fight off his Akuma so successfully. He manipulates his victim’s emotions with them.” Chat waved a hand at the restored screwdriver. “Each victim has a focus item that must be destroyed, and the Akuma in it must be purified.”

Vivi shuddered. “Linguistic misunderstanding or not, hearing that makes my skin crawl.” She gripped one of Lewis’s hands, her other arm still tucking Arthur against her chest, and turned her attention fully to Chat Noir. “If he ever comes  _near_  my boys again, he’ll be the deadest villain in Paris. He thinks he can interrupt our honeymoon without having his ass kicked into next week—!”

Arthur patted her hand where it gripped his shirt. "Easy, tiger.”

Vivi was having exactly none of it. “No. Not only did he screw up our honeymoon, but— but he tried to—”

“But he didn’t,” Arthur reminded her gently. “You guys—” He lifted his eyes to the two superhero youths. “All of you, stopped him before—”

“Don’t dismiss your own part in this,” Chat Noir interrupted. “You fought his influence off, and that’s no easy thing.”

Arthur shuddered, his skin crawling. “I— I was possessed before, once, and—” His hand came up to clutch his shoulder and his breath caught in his throat.

“Breathe, Arthur,” Lewis chided softly, pulling Arthur’s hand away from his shoulder. “Deep breaths.”

“Let’s just say something  _bad_  happened,” Vivi finished grimly, resting her hand on Arthur’s chest, just over his heart.

It took Arthur a moment to compose himself. “I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I— I would have—” His eye fell on the screwdriver lying on the floor and his skin prickled with goosebumps.

“And this Hawkmoth would be nothing but a greasy burn mark if you had.” Lewis picked up the screwdriver and stuffed it in a pocket.

Arthur relaxed a little.

"I think we should talk.” Vivi looked up. “No one with that kind of ability should be terrorizing an entire city. And he just earned himself a couple of implacable enemies with tonight’s trick.”

“I understand, but you don’t have Miraculous to battle him. It requires Milady’s miraculous to purify his—” Chat Noir cast a glance at Lewis and amended himself. "To banish his influence from those he has Akumatized.”

Vivi snorted. “We’re not exactly without weapons ourselves, as you have seen.”

Arthur made an ugly sound, partially laughter and part something he didn’t want to name, even to himself. “Speak for yourself. ” He gestured at his shoulder. “I’m kinda unarmed.”

Chat’s eyes widened and he stifled surprised laughter.

The girl looked a little annoyed and she muttered something that sounded uncomplimentary, but without Lewis concentrating on him Arthur didn’t understand her.

Vivi made a displeased sound. “Okay, this is getting old. We need to talk, and relying on translation is taking up time I think would be better spent elsewhere.” She pointed imperiously at the table and chairs that occupied one corner of the suite. “You two sit. I gotta see if I can still remember this spell.”

The girl, Ladybug, seemed mutinous, but settled at a touch from Chat. They sat at the table while Vivi fetched the still mostly-full ice bucket and centered it on the small table. She concentrated for a moment, holding her hand over the ice. Pale frost sparkled on the air for a moment and then she lowered her hand to touch the ice. She pulled it away and nodded to Chat. “Touch the ice too, bare skin please. For as long as the ice lasts, we’ll be able to talk to each other. I gave it my knowledge of English, and you will provide the French.”

With a glance over at Ladybug, Chat peeled off one of his gloves and placed pale fingers on the ice.

Vivi nodded at Ladybug. “Say something, please. I want to make sure it worked.”

“I’ve never heard of magic like that.” Ladybug exclaimed. “Wait, I understood everything you said!” She leaned forward to squint at the ice. “How did you do that?”

Vivi chuckled. “A basic translation spell, using the ice as a medium. Ice works best for me, though my teacher uses fire.”

With Lewis’s help, Arthur dragged himself back to his feet, moving to take a seat at the table. “Well, that makes things a bit easier. Thanks, Vi.” He leaned over to give her a brief kiss.

Ladybug glanced between them. “So your English wasn’t messed up! You really are married… to  _both_  of them?”

“We are,” Arthur answered. “All three of us together, though the papers are only between Vivi and I since it’s hard to get a marriage license for a ghost.”

Ladybug’s eyes went wide and she leaned as far back in her chair as she could.  _“G-ghost?”_

Lewis sighed and let his human shape go, reverting to the skeletal form that had been his for the past three years. “Boo.”

Ladybug eeped and her chair would have gone over backwards if Chat had not steadied it. She drew her knees up in front of her chest. “A ghost,” she repeated. “I—”

Arthur managed a dry chuckle. “Believe me, he’s spectral. I’d say he—”

Lewis clapped a bony hand over his mouth. “Arthur, I swear, if you say the ghost with the most one more time—”

“I was going to say hauntingly handsome.” Arthur grinned obnoxiously. It felt good to be able to tease Lewis, to chase away some of the cold dread the feeling of the attempted possession had left behind.

Chat burst out in laughter, earning a half-dismayed look from Ladybug. “Don’t you dare!” She flailed her hands in a desperate attempt to keep him quiet.

“Milady, I would never ghoul so low. Such accusations haunt me.” Chat’s grin was puckishly delighted.

 _“Arrrggghhh!”_  Ladybug buried her face in her hands.

Vivi covered her mouth to stifle an unbecoming snort of laughter.  "Oh my God, Arthur, why didn’t you tell me there were two of you?“

Arthur raised an amused eyebrow.  "You know very well that there’s only one of me. But he has a fine turn of proper punsmanship.”

Ladybug groaned. “I should’ve stayed in bed…”

“Speaking of bed,” Lewis added, resuming his human guise.  "Forgive me if this seems out of place to ask, but how old are you? You seem awful young for this.“

"Being a hero knows no age,” Chat Noir struck a pose in his chair.

Beside him, Ladybug rolled her eyes at his antics but answered with frank honesty.  "It’s not really a matter of choice. My miraculous is the only thing that can undo Hawkmoth’s manipulations. Chat can battle the Akumatized people, but he can’t undo what happens; can’t purify the effects of Hawkmoth’s Akuma.“

"So you’re kids,” Vivi’s tone was cold and flat. “This Hawkmoth has a  _lot_  to answer for.”

“It— the miraculous came to us. That had nothing to do with him,” Ladybug was flustered. “My kwami bonded with me. I care for her.”

Arthur rose to his feet, but only moved so far as to crouch between Ladybug and Chat Noir’s chairs. “We’re not saying you don’t, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But—  If Hawkmoth weren’t here, you wouldn’t have had to step up and fight him, kwami or not. That he has to answer for.”

Ladybug chewed on her lower lip, but couldn’t meet his eyes.

Chat Noir made a sort of growling sound in the back of his throat. “I don’t care that I have to battle with Hawkmoth’s Akuma, I’m not giving up my miraculous or my freedom.”

“Chat?” Ladybug turned to him. “What? You never—”

Chat looked like a guilty cat, his black ears canted back and flattened a bit. "It’s nothing, Milady. Pretend you never heard that.”

It was clear from her expression Ladybug would not forget his words anytime soon, and frankly, Arthur had his doubts that any of them would let that slip go unnoticed. Vivi’s storm-cloud eyes had darkened and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Lewis looked like he was contemplating whether to serve Hawkmoth  _en flambé_  or very, very extra crispy.

Ladybug chewed the corner of her lip again, and then cautiously rested her hand on Chat Noir’s arm. He jumped a little and then patted her fingers gently.

Vivi puffed out her cheeks with a sigh. “I’m gonna let it go for now, but you can be sure we’re gonna talk more about this age thing once we’ve done something about Hawkmunch.”

Ladybug drew her hand back and glanced up at Vivi.  "Why do you want to help so much? Sure, he attacked your— your husband, but he’s free now.“

Lewis leaned forward in his chair, his dark sclera making his gaze even more penetrating. "But things could have been worse…  _have_ been worse. It’s not just that he attacked Arthur, though we don’t forgive that easily, it’s that he’s doing this to others, over and over. And he won’t stop until we— all of us— find a way to stop him.”

A pensive expression crossed Ladybug’s face and she looked back at Chat Noir. “Can the two of us speak privately for just a moment. Just for a few minutes, I swear. It’s kinda important.”

Vivi didn’t look pleased, but assented with a nod. “Don’t try to cut us out of this, though. You need our help. And I’d rather we work as a team than be at odds.” She gestured toward the bedroom of the suite.

~~~~

Ladybug closed the door behind them and leaned against it with a heavy sigh.

“Milady?”

She pursed her lips and took in the bedroom. There was a folded dividing screen by the wardrobe and she hurried over to extend it. “We really need our kwami’s advice on this, so that means we’ll have to unmask. I’ll be behind this with you on the other side. I’m going to trust that you won’t peek and you’ll have to do the same.”

Chat’s usual smirk dropped away. “I would trust you with my identity and more.”

“I know, but let’s keep our secrets for now.”

She retreated behind the screen and took a deep breath. _“Tikki, spots off.”_  Her costume vanished and Tikki swirled into existence by her shoulder.

On the other side of the screen she heard Chat command,  _“Plagg, claws in.”_

She waited a few seconds before speaking. “Tikki, I know you two heard everything. We need your help. What do you think of them… and their offer of help?”

She heard a grumble from the other side of the screen and then, “What is it with you two? Jeez. They want to help, and frankly at least two of them are powerful enough to give Hawkmoth real problems. So why not let them?”

“Plagg,” Tikki scolded.

“What? You’re the trusting one here. What do your instincts say? I can’t be the only one who thinks this is a good thing!”

Ladybug had to admit her kwami looked conflicted. Tikki hummed a frustrated sound and spun in a circle around her head. Ladybug offered a hand and Tikki settled into her palm with another grumble. “I don’t  _know,”_  she said at last. “In— in all our history, we’ve only ever looked to the other miraculous bearers to aid us. But now, one of us is held by the enemy and forced to act against his nature, and no matter what we do, we haven’t been able to free him.”

“Tikki…”

“Listen here, bright eyes. Yeah, maybe that’s the way it’s always been, but like you said, this is a new situation. We haven’t been able to do anything the way we used to, so maybe if we have some help from new sources, we can actually do something. We could stop Hawkmoth and save his kwami.” Tears prickled behind Ladybug’s eyelids at Plagg’s impassioned declaration.

“I agree with Plagg.” Chat’s voice was firm. “Maybe it’s time to try something new, Milady.”

Tikki sighed and shook her head. “I really don’t know if this is for the best, but I’m willing to try. We’ve been stuck in this impasse with Hawkmoth for way too long and I’m worried for his kwami.”

Ladybug cuddled Tikki close to her cheek for a moment. “Then we’re agreed, all of us. Maybe they can really help us.”

“We’ll never know if we don’t try, Milady. Shall we go talk to them, see if there’s some planning to do?”

 _“Tikki, spots on!”_  When the transformation was done, Ladybug nodded firmly. “Let’s go, kitty.”

~~~~

When the door had closed behind the two costumed heroes, Lewis turned and suddenly gathered Vivi and Arthur tight against his chest.

“Ooof, Big Guy!” Arthur didn’t struggle, only looked with concern at Lewis. “What’s up? You okay there?”

“Am _I_ okay? You— you were the one—?” Lewis squeezed tighter, at a loss for words.

Arthur sighed. “I’m okay, love. Sure it scared the piss out of me at the time, but it’s over, and now that I know his modus operandi you can bet he’ll never get a hold on me again.”  

Vivi burrowed into Arthur’s side inside Lewis’s fierce hold and growled under her breath. “Never again.”

Lewis felt a tug on his mind, one of his deadbeats. He hadn’t been paying attention to them after the attack on Arthur and he reached out to it, concerned.

Suddenly he was there, in the bedroom, looking from the perspective from behind the potted fern in the corner. The two heroes each stood on one side of the dividing screen and as he watched, they banished their disguises, becoming two teens and two small, floating creatures.

Vivi stiffened beside him. “They’re just kids!” Her voice was tight with outrage and Lewis realized he had inadvertently shared the deadbeat’s perceptions with them. ”So young!”

“Too damn young.” Arthur growled.

Lewis agreed with every word. These  _children_ were defending their city from a supervillain! He felt his hair start to flicker and tamped down hard on the rage. He wasn’t going to let himself lose control. Not again.

~~~~

Lewis was still simmering by the time the two superheroes had emerged from the conference, but at least he had gained enough control to keep his hair from going all fiery. Arthur let Lewis cling to him, both for his own peace of mind and to keep Lewis grounded.

Vivi had put on her professional mask to hide her thoughts, and she only gestured them over, “Have you come to a decision?” Her smile was all politeness and Arthur thought someone that didn’t know her as well as they did would buy into it without a second thought.

Ladybug heaved a sigh. “Perhaps you are right. We— we haven’t been able to truly stop him, only delay whatever his twisted plans are and clean up the messes that he causes with his Akumatized victims. So—”

“Let’s lay all our cards on the table and see what we can come up with,” Vivi’s smile gentled into something more real as she reseated herself. “I’ll go first. My name is Vivi and I am a paranormal researcher by trade, and more recently, a spell-caster by vocation. I have an affinity for spells involving ice and cold. I also swing a seriously mean bat and occasionally a sword, so don’t think I can’t handle it in a brawl.”

She lifted her hand and gestured to where Lewis still stood protectively over Arthur. “These are my husbands. The big guy is Lewis, and we’ve already established that he’s a ghost. Not the rattling chains in the basement type either. He… well, he started out as a vengeance spirit, though he’s become more of a protective guardian type, due to circumstances that are way too much to go into right now. He throws a mean fireball and can burn just about anything, fireproofing or not. He also has the usual ghostly talents, vanishing, walking through walls, etcetera.”

Her lips quirked up a notch more. “His snuggle-buddy there is Arthur. He’s the tech guy. Made all sorts of ghost-detecting devices from scratch and built his own prosthetic arm. He’s hell on wheels with anything mechanical, and while he’s not a tank, he won’t back down from a fight.”

Vivi turned her attention to the two costumed youths. “I promise, give me a clue to chew on, and I can find out a heck of a lot. So tell me a little about these kwami and miraculous of yours and we’ll see what I can pull out of my hat.”

Ladybug took a seat, playing absently with a piece of hotel stationary that had been left on the table. “I’m probably not the best person to tell you about kwami and miraculous. That would be Master Fu. He— he guards the miraculous.”

Chat Noir made a soft sound, but when Arthur glanced over at him, he had his lips pressed firmly shut. Arthur could feel his eyebrows trying to climb into his hairline.  Some job of guarding the miraculous when there were two barely-even-teenagers battling not only someone who had one, but his monsters of the week too. Behind him, Lewis radiated anger again and Arthur knew Vivi was holding onto her professional smile tooth and nail.

“And what does he do to guard them?” Vivi asked, trying to hide how pointed a question it was. “And believe me, we’d like to talk to him too.”

Ladybug bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know everything, I just know he protects the rest of the miraculous. They’re all hidden in a box that only he knows how to open… I think it keeps Hawkmoth from finding them.”

Arthur folded his arm across his chest. “And what is he doing to teach you about what you need to know? What kind of training?” He had a sneaking feeling what the answer was, given how hesitantly Ladybug admitted how little she knew.

Chat Noir put his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder and answered for her. “Not much of anything,” he admitted with a tight smile that was about the farthest thing from real. “It was— kind of an urgent matter that we deal with Hawkmoth. And like Ladybug said, her miraculous is the only one that can purify his Akuma.”

Arthur was pretty sure Chat was leaving out a lot, to judge by his expression. “And he hasn’t given you more training since then?” Arthur asked quietly, already knowing in his heart what the answer was.

The silence from the two was telling. Ladybug’s shoulders were hunched up and Chat Noir’s ears were flattened.

“Then wouldn’t it make more sense to have her trained to top form? To know everything she can do inside and out? To have a partner that can do the same?” Holding Arthur was the only thing stopping Lewis from crossing his arms. Arthur could feel the aborted movement to do just that.

“I mean, I totally agree a guy who can do custom possessions on demand is a number one top priority.” Arthur added. “But because of that, those fighting him need to have every advantage at their disposal. I mean, a flame guardian, ice adept, and mechanic aren’t bad advantages, but if there’s more you could have, you should.”

Ladybug was pensive and near to chewing her bottom lip to tatters. “I— it doesn’t feel right to confront Master Fu. He gave us our miraculouses and he helped Tikki when she was sick.”

Chat shifted position in his chair, his expression still pinched. “I’m not sure confronting him is the right word, Milady. It seems to me they have a really good point about us being rather unprepared for this. And we could use all the advantages we can get.”

Ladybug sighed, a thin whisper of defeated sound. “I— we’ll take you to see him, but it’ll have to be late evening, we— we have other—  _obligations_  during the day.”

 _School_ was the word she wasn’t saying but it was pretty clear to Arthur that was what she meant.

“We’ll meet you at the park across the street at—”

“No earlier than eight, Milady,” Chat interrupted her. “I’m stuck with— things— until then.”

“Make it eight-thirty,” she amended.

Vivi stuck out her hand. “Deal, we’ll be waiting for you then.”

Reluctantly, Ladybug shook it and pushed herself up from the table. “We should get going then. I have to be up early in the morning.”

Chat Noir also rose and swept a charming bow in Vivi’s direction. “Until then.” He followed Ladybug out to the balcony.

Behind Arthur, Lewis made a soft sound and Arthur turned to see him holding two tiny Deadbeats in one hand. “Follow them,” he whispered to them. “Keep them safe and warn us the moment anything bad happens. And stay invisible.”

The two Beats nodded and vanished.

Lewis caught Arthur’s look and shrugged. “They need someone to keep an eye on them.”


	2. Language and Other Barriers

In spite of the late night, Vivi had them up by ten. The smell of fresh hot coffee and pastries lured Arthur out of the depths of slumber, where he’d spent a surprising amount of time since their flight. Vivi was seated Indian-style on the chest at the foot of the bed, bright colored brochures spread around her and something smelling enticingly of cinnamon in one hand.

Arthur pushed himself upright to be greeted by a kiss on the cheek and a offered take-out cup that smelled like heaven.  
  
“Up and at'em, sleepy head.” Lewis chuckled warmly. “I think Vi has decided we’re playing tourist today.”  
  
On cue, Vivi lifted her head and stuck out her tongue. “I was promised sights, and I don’t plan on letting Hawk-Mothra ruin our entire honeymoon. Today we spend enjoying ourselves.” She took an over-large bite of the pastry in her hand and grinned with stuffed cheeks. “So get your cute butt out of bed and cleaned up before I eat all the lovely goodies Lewis got from the bakery down the street.”

“Fine, fine. I’m up.” Arthur accepted the hand Lewis held out to him and pulled himself from the comfort of the bed. Lewis set the coffee on the beside table and shooed Arthur into the bathroom with a pat on the rump. Arthur stuck his tongue out at him but retreated into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He emerged and attached his arm, braced for the familiar wash of pain.

Lewis rubbed his back until it was over and offered him the coffee again. Arthur took it gratefully. “So where is she planning on dragging us today?”

“To judge by the brochures, everywhere.” Lewis chuckled dryly and offered him a pink and white bakery box.

Vivi shot them both a dirty look. “Just for that I should drag you around shopping all day.”

“You’d be bored in half an hour,” Arthur selected a pastry and took a bite. He moaned in appreciation of the flakey, buttery taste. “Oh, man, these are amazing. Wonder if we can smuggle a few home?”  
  
“I’m already planning to get breakfast from there every morning until we go home.” Vivi’s sour frown vanished like a leaf in the wind as she bit into another. “So yummy.”

“I think that’s a very good idea.” Lewis reached out to tap Vivi’s nose affectionately, wearing a grin Arthur could only describe as shit-eating. “Very  _lucky_  that it’s so near. And I already  _spotted_ a familiar face there.”

Arthur lifted his head to give Lewis a bemused look. He hadn't— “Dare I ask—?”

“Ooh—!” Vivi exclaimed, a delighted smile lighting up her face.

Suddenly, Lewis’s head came up and he focused on the balcony. With a frown, he strode over and opened the doors.

“Lew-Lew? What is it?” Vivi abandoned her scone and reached for her bat.

“I don’t know. I thought I saw something out here. It was small and red.” Lewis peered around.

Arthur’s hand clenched on his coffee, “Not an Akuma, then?”

“Those are purple and black, so no.”

Vivi peered under Lewis’s arm. “I don’t see anything. Think you scared it off?”

Arthur joined them at the doors. “I think it’s more likely that a visitor from last night had the same idea you did, Lewis.” He carefully did not say more in case their spy was still in earshot.

Lewis frowned. “Whatever it was, it moved fast.”

Lewis sighed and closed the balcony doors. After a moment he hesitated and turned to the bakery box on the table. He selected a pastry and set it on a paper plate that he set out on the wrought iron table outside. He chuckled at Arthur’s wry smile. “Never hurts to make a friend. And even if the pigeons get it, I still made the effort.”  
  
Arthur elbowed him. “You’re still a sap, Big Guy, but that’s what we love about you.”

~~~~

It was nearly eight when they got back to the hotel, laden with shopping bags and footsore, but Vivi was delighted and that made it all worth it. They had managed to find a tour of the catacombs, guided of course, but better that than not at all. And Vivi had been in her element.

Lewis had hung close, not spooked, but wary of the pressure of hundreds of years of spirits interred with their bones. Not too many had been hostile and none of them were willing to brave him to try anything but he admitted to being glad when they had emerged into the sunlight again.

Arthur had to admit he was honestly glad, both for Lewis’s protective hovering in the oppressive atmosphere of the catacombs and for when they had finally left the bones of the dead to their rest, and headed back into the bright bustle of a Paris afternoon.

After a late lunch, Vivi had called home and Uncle Lance, who was looking after their apartment and assorted other things, and had him put Mystery on the phone. She put him on speaker and explained what they knew in a few short sentences and that they had a lead on someone who could tell them more.

Mystery  made a sound deep in his throat. “I’ve heard of kwami, though I have never encountered one. They are primal forces, but still innocent, like children, in their delight at all things new. I know little more, though.” they could hear his tags jingle in a way that indicated he was giving himself a good shake. “I could be there within hours if you need me.” His tone was eager.

“Ease up there, knight errant, your princess doesn’t need you to ride to the rescue just yet.” Vivi chuckled. “I’ll let you know when we have a dragon to slay, trust me. For now, though, we need to find out what we can, and for that I can’t rely on imperfect translations. Chat Noir’s English is good, but we’ve already had a language snafu that could have been really bad, and my French is passable at best. Lewis’s is way better, but—” Vivi shrugged, even knowing he couldn’t see her. “I used that translation spell, but I need something a bit more permanent. It only lasts as long as the carrier does, and well, ice melts.”

Mystery chuffed. “You’re limiting yourself again.  _Outside_  the box, my dear. What is ice but—?”

“Water,” Arthur answered for her.

“Mmnn, and we are composed of a good percentage of what element?” Mystery’s voice carried a trace of his sly smile.

“Okay, okay, but how do I— oh, wait. Perform the spell on the ice and then drink the water.”

“Indeed.” Now Mystery’s tone was more like that of a proud parent. “It will require some binding agents to integrate the spell into your bodies, so you may need to do a little shopping. Now, to begin, you will need some lemon balm. Dried will work but fresh is better—”

“Hang on, hang on, let me write this down—” Vivi grabbed a pencil out of her bag and scribbled the ingredients down as Mystery dictated them. When he was done, she tapped the eraser against her chin thoughtfully. “Most of this I can get at a grocery store or herbalist but these last two, I’ll need to find an esoterica shop for those. Hope there’s one nearby. Might as well stock up on a few things if we find one, no sense in facing Hawkmoth without a few weapons in my arsenal.”

After she hung up, she pulled up google on her phone and spent a few minutes quietly muttering to herself. “Got it!’ She declared at last, pulling up a map. “Fresh market here should have most of these and then we head here for the other stuff.”

Arthur chuckled. “Looks like you get to drag us around shopping after all.”

“Hush, husband mine.”

That had taken the rest of the afternoon and they stopped for dinner afterwards before returning to the hotel. Vivi sorted her spoils into three categories, souvenirs for the folks back home (and one for herself but really, it was  _her_ honeymoon) things for her spell and things for her personal arsenal of magic. “I can prep the tincture now, but I need one of them for their language.” She groaned in frustration. “And then that means waiting for the ice to melt!”

Arthur snorted a laugh. “Vi, two words: Fire. Ghost.”

Lewis summoned a tiny fireball in his palm to illustrate. “One magic drink; no waiting.”

“I knew I married the two of you for a reason.” Vivi chortled with delight and peppered both of them with kisses.

~~~~  
  
Ladybug was the first to meet them at the park, alighting on the grass with a soft thump. Her eyes were wary as she scanned the area. Though the park was well-lit in the twilight, there were plenty of patches of shadow that could conceal a threat.  
  
Lewis glanced around to make sure they were alone and called up several of his light orbs, sending them to hang in the branches of the nearest trees like Chinese lanterns. Ladybug peered at them before a small smile curved her lips. “That’s a useful trick.”  
  
Vivi looked up where she was setting up a pitcher of ice and several paper cups and smiled a welcome.  
  
Lewis laughed and waved her to the table where Vivi was decanting her tincture into the ice. “One of several,” he replied in decent French.  
  
Vivi murmured her incantation and touched the ice, before gesturing Ladybug forward to do the same.  
  
“I can’t,” Ladybug said helplessly, raising her gloved hands. Unlike Chat’s, they were one piece with her suit and could not be removed.  
  
“Something Milady cannot do?” Chat’s voice purred from overhead. “I am paw-sitively shocked.”  
  
“You don’t have to be catty about it,” Ladybug retorted in the same spirit.  
  
Chat dropped to the ground and offered a sharp-toothed grin. “Brava.”

Vivi explained what she was doing to Chat, who translated it into French for his partner. Ladybug understood some English but was not fluent, he explained in an aside to Vivi, before peeling off a glove and touching the ice.   
  
Vivi grinned at him and offered the pitcher to Lewis. He obligingly lit one of his hands afire and cupped the bottom of it, carefully modulating the heat to melt the ice. When all that remained was water, Vivi took it back and poured a cup for all of them. She made sure to drink hers first. Arthur followed suit while Lewis looked mournfully at his own glass. “I can drink this, but it’s not like I’m really going to metabolize it— or the spell, Vi.”  
  
“Oh for pity’s sake,” Vivi sighed and grabbed his locket. Dunking it unceremoniously into his cup, she muttered a few short words.  
  
Lewis yelped. “C-cold!”  
  
“Big baby.”

“Watch and see if I don’t toss you right in the lake when we get home,” he grumped sourly at her, cradling his abused locket.  
  
Arthur chuckled. “Stop acting like a cat that just had a bath.”  
  
Chat laughed while Ladybug just rolled her eyes.

Vivi thumbed her nose at her ghostly husband before turning her attention to Chat and Ladybug. “This one isn’t going to fade,” she explained. “The spell is essentially absorbed into our systems through the water. So we won’t have any more— miscommunication issues. You two now know English as if you had spoken it all your lives, while we know French the same way.”

Chat laughed again. “Wow, if I could use that all the time I wouldn’t have to take language lessons every week.”

“It’s a bit of a hassle to put together, but worth it in cases like this. Our earlier linguistic issue could have ended badly, for all concerned.” Vivi stowed the pitcher and the rest of the things she had brought in a large shopping bag.

“How many languages do you speak?” Ladybug murmured quietly to Chat.

“Three fluently, counting French,” Chat ticked off several clawed fingers. “Two more that I’m passable at, but not fluent. A few words here and there of others.”

“Color me impressed, kitty-cat.”

“Mew only have to ask and I will happily caterwaul you a song in one of the languages I know, Milady.” Chat’s bow was flamboyant.

“I’ll pass on the alley serenade, thanks.” Ladybug reached out and flicked the bell he wore around his neck.

“But we could have a yowling good time.”

“Don’t push your luck, kitty.”

Vivi stifled a laugh. She had to admit, she liked these two. Chat reminded her a lot of Arthur, insouciant charm and sass, hiding pain behind a smile and attitude. He was better now, most of the time, but Chat could be a younger version of him easily. Including the pain. She hadn’t forgotten his verbal misstep of last night. “So, now that we can all speak, shall we go speak to this Master Fu of yours?”

She didn’t miss Ladybug’s almost instinctive flinch.

Chat rested a hand on Ladybug’s tense shoulder. “Lets.”

She heaved a sigh and nodded. “We’ll lead you from the rooftops.”

~~~~

Ladybug called out from above. “Turn left down here. We’re here.”  
  
She leapt down to land in front of them. Her expression was still nervous. Chat put a hand on her shoulder and she tried for a smile. It was wobbly. “I-I know this is the best thing to do but I can’t help being nervous.”  
  
Vivi smiled at her. “Trust me. He wants someone to blame, I’m right here and I am not afraid of anything he comes up with.”  
  
Ladybug was trying not to hunch in on herself. Arthur was intimately familiar with her posture. He crouched in front of her to bring their eyes to the same level. “Hey, what’s got you so spooked?”  
  
“I’m not scared,” she retorted.  
  
“Don’t kid a kidder. I know scared. You’re flat-out terrified.” Arthur took her hand, a little surprised when she didn’t flinch away.  
  
“I— I don’t want to lose my Kwami… I’m afraid he’ll say we’re not worthy and take them away from us. They’re not only our kwami, but our friends too.”

“I dare him to try.” Vivi’s voice was flat. “No offense to you two, but it’s pretty clear he’s manipulating you through the medium of only letting you have bits of information and playing on your loyalty to each other and to your kwami.” She snorted. “I haven’t even met him and I’m already unimpressed.”

Ladybug tapped softly on the door and took a deep breath, clearly bracing herself. Chat Noir was right behind her, his posture a mix of concern and protectiveness.  
  
An older Asian man opened the door. Arthur guesstimated he was in his early fifties. He smiled in a grandfatherly way at the two teen superheroes. “Ladybug—  _and_ Chat Noir… What brings you to my door?”  
  
Ladybug choked, freezing like a deer in headlights. Behind her mask, her eyes were wide and startled. “Uhh—” she managed to squeak.  
  
Chat smoothly took over. His smile was the same guarded one from last night. “Greetings, Master Fu. We brought some allies over and were hoping to pick your brains on what we could do to solve the Hawkmoth problem, once and for all.”  
  
Master Fu’s smile did not waver but his eyes were shuttered and wary. “Ahh, allies? I was unaware of any other miraculous in operation besides Hawkmoth’s. And yours, of course.”  
  
“Oh, we may not have Miraculous, but we have our own talents,” Vivi stepped forward and put her hand on Chat’s shoulder.  Her smile was her most high-wattage customer service smile. “Trust me. We have a lot of very useful abilities that can be applied to this fight.”

“I… see.” Master Fu’s voice, like his eyes, had lost several degrees of warmth. “I do believe this is best discussed over tea, yes. Please come in.”

They followed him into a very Chinese themed room, decorated sparingly, with a single low table that held a kettle, a single cup, several old looking books and oddly, a smartphone.

Arthur noted that he peered out into the narrow street before closing and locking the door.

Fu gestured them to the table, taking a tea tray from a cabinet and disappearing into a second room, that Arthur leaned over to catch a glimpse of. It looked like an ordinary enough kitchen, but he wasn’t about to assume anything. What little he had learned about this man set his hackles up, and to judge by Vivi’s darting glances, she wasn’t taking anything at face value either.

Ladybug had dropped cross-legged onto a flat cushion, her whole posture one of barely contained panic. Chat Noir crouched as near her as space allowed, not touching, but barely a breath away. His expression alternated between concern for her and a watchfulness that was years outside his actual age.   
  
Vivi followed Ladybug’s example, but sat with her legs folded under her. Her back was ramrod straight and Arthur was reminded of the way she’d held herself at tea with her grandmother.   
  
He dropped onto a cushion to her right, his posture carefully calculated to look careless.

Lewis settled on the cushion to Vivi’s left, slightly farther back from the table. He wore his sunglasses to hide his uncanny eyes and an affable smile. For all his bulk, he appeared mostly harmless this way.  
  
Master Fu returned with the tea tray, his expression even more inscrutable than before. His grandfatherly mask had slipped a little more, but he offered a careful smile and a brief bow before seating himself opposite them. There was silence as he poured tea for all of them.  
  
Ladybug was too keyed up to even touch hers and Chat followed her example. Lewis only glanced at his before returning his attention to Master Fu and Arthur carelessly ignored his cup.  
  
Vivi took her offered cup and deliberately inhaled the steam before taking a sip. “Excellent blend. Thank you.”  
  
Master Fu raised an eyebrow and sipped his own cup, glancing at the other untouched cups on the table.

Vivi gave a discrete signal at Lewis to pick up his own cup. Arthur continued to ignore his, playing the ‘rude American’ to the hilt.  
  
“It is quite good,” Lewis said after a sip.  
  
“I am pleased you like it, but I doubt Ladybug and Chat Noir brought you here for a cup of tea.”  
  
“They did not.” Vivi put her cup down. “We asked to be brought to you to discuss Hawkmoth, and what we can do to help pluck his wings.”  
  
Master Fu’s expression became more rigid. “I am pleased by your willingness to help, but it is best to leave these things to the professionals.”  
  
Vivi’s expression was like ice. “You may be content to allow two fourteen year olds to face a super-powered megalomaniac, but I am not.”

Master Fu looked to Chat Noir and Ladybug, but the horror on their faces showed they had not told their guests that. That was good, at least, he had feared they had been lax. “And what makes you say they’re fourteen?”  
  
“Oh there is no need to be coy about it. I can also tell you their names and where they both live, If I desired to.” She took another sip of tea. “My dear Lewis even paid Ladybug’s residence a visit this morning.”

Ladybug made a strangled squeaking sound.

Of course, it hadn’t been because they’d known it was Ladybug’s home, that had been a  coincidence, but better to play it up. “Your mother’s macarons are divine, by the way. Now, I am here on my honeymoon. I have known about Paris’s superhero and villain situation for less than twenty four hours and I’ve learned that much. Because I know how to look. I can guarantee there are others in the world who can do the same. What can you do if Hawkmoth finds such a person?”  
  
“You know nothing of Hawkmoth.”  
  
“I know everything I need to know. I know he uses a kwami, a primal force of the universe, to empower and control people. I know he’s familiar enough with Japanese spiritual beliefs to know the term akuma, but not so much as to know what it really means. I know his power manifests like a possession, themed through an item the victim has. I know he desires the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir in addition to his own. And most importantly, I know he targeted my husband, and in doing so signed his own warrant.”

She leaned forward, eyes intent. “And now, Master Fu, shall I tell you what I know about you?”

At this, Lewis and Arthur froze and gave her a look, trying to tell her to back off, but Vivi was having exactly none of that.  
  
“I would be most interested in what you could possibly learned about me in such little time that we shared.” The words were kind, but there was steel behind the tone.  
  
Vivi took a last sip of her tea, as if gathering her thoughts, then delicately set the cup down. “You play the role of the affable old man, and it isn’t  _all_ an act. You care what happens; you truly do want to stop Hawkmoth and save the world. But your worst enemy in this endeavor is yourself.  You chose children as your champions because you can control them. You don’t tell them everything right away and leave them to figure things out on their own, thus making them dependant on you. You don’t think they should have the Miraculous they do.” Vivi did her best to ignore Ladybug’s pained gasp. “Because you don’t think  _anyone_  should have Miraculouses. You don’t trust them in anyone’s hands but your own.”  
  
“I also know you’re upset right now and it’s for the completely wrong reason. The fact that I am sitting here telling you this makes me living proof your security has been broken. You should be worrying about contingencies, about whether or not the children are in danger. Instead you see something like a child messing in the cleaning cabinet. Too young to understand what’s going on around them and putting themselves in danger. You haven’t even asked how I thought we could help.”

“The young always want to push things, but Hawkmoth has been stopped at every turn. Slow and steady will prevail.” Master Fu smiled genuinely at the bracelet on his wrist. “You do not add the noodles to the pot before the water boils.”  
  
“But if you wait till the water boils over, you create a mess and risk someone getting seriously burned.” It wasn’t Vivi, but Lewis who responded this time.  
  
“Should have known you’d have a cooking metaphor at the ready.” Vivi smiled at him fondly. “You won’t listen to us, but we are going to help. The sooner you take us seriously, they sooner we can get one step closer to ending Hawkmoth.”  
  
“The best way you could help is to stay out of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s way. Then they do not have to split their attention between protection and their duty.”  
  
“Actually, Master Fu, they helped already.” Chat Noir chimed in. “She was the one to destroy the akumatized screwdriver last night.” He glanced at Lewis, hoping the actual akuma wasn’t offended by the term.

“Accepting one lucky turn as a foregone conclusion is dangerous.” Master Fu chided.  
  
Vivi sighed. “I don’t think we’re going to make any headway tonight. But we’ve spoken and told you of our intentions, that’s enough. Thank you for the tea.”  
  
As they got up to leave, Master Fu showed them out. “One idle curiosity, if you don’t mind. May I ask his relationship to you?” Master Fu gestured towards Arthur.  
  
“He’s my husband,” Vivi said airly, leaving a gobsmacked Master Fu in her wake.

~~~~

Ladybug swung away from the most awkward tea in her life, Chat Noir right on her heels.  
  
“Do you think that was a bluff?” Chat Noir asked.  
  
“No,” Ladybug’s voice wavered a bit. “My mother mentioned a tall, dark skinned man today. She didn’t mention him being American, but given that he’s pretty fluent in French…”  
  
“She might not have even realized.” Chat finished. “And she gave a random stranger macarons?”  
  
“Mom likes sharing her baking,” Ladybug covered, not wanting to reveal her parents worked in a bakery.  
  
Chat smiled fondly, “Sounds like someone I know from class.” That they were both students was clearly out of the bag now.  
  
_Huh, wonder who’d just bring macarons to class. I mean I do because my parents own a bakery, but I wonder who else does?_  “I notice you didn’t mention the magic water or Lewis being a real akuma.”  
  
“I would have if he tried to ask any follow-up questions, but they were right. Master Fu wasn’t going to listen to anything we said.” Chat Noir sighed. “I know we have to work with Master Fu, but I think we also need to be ready to work  _around_  him.”

Ladybug paused on a railing to gather her thoughts. “I hate to have to say it, but you’re right.”

She looked out on the lights of Paris for a long moment, before turning her full attention to Chat Noir. “I am sorry for not telling you about Master Fu before. He— he said it was best… And at the time I believed him.”

“And now you don’t?” Chat’s green eyes were intent, but thankfully not as wary and guarded as they had been since she had brought Master Fu up.

“No…” She sighed. “I don’t know anymore. I think we need his knowledge, but a lot of what Vivi said made sense. Too much sense. Tikki trusts him, but I’m not sure I do anymore. There’s a lot more he could have told us even without that impetuousness of youth thing he hinted at tonight.”

“On that, Milady, we are  _cat_ egorically agreed.”

Ladybug laughed. She needed his sense of humor right now to ease the knots in her stomach. “And he was so guarded when he spoke to them. You’d have to have been catatonic to not feel the tension in there tonight,”

Chat’s grin widened and he caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I knew you’d fall for my puns sooner or later.”

It actually took her a minute to realize the pun in what she’d said and all her willpower not to facepalm.  _“Chat!”_

~~~~

“Master?” Wayzz’s voice was tentative.

Fu closed the door (perhaps just a little too hard) behind his unexpected visitors and threw the bolt. His hands were shaking and he had to pause and will them to stop.

“I do not believe they know what they are getting into, any of them.” Fu kept his voice on an even keel, but inside he was seething. He had given too much to protect the miraculous to see foreigners undo all his hard work, by thinking they could just come in and—

He drew in a deep breath through his nose and slowly let it out in a sigh. “Wayzz, I— I am going to meditate before bed. I trust you can take care of making sure everything is secure?”

“Of— of course, Master.” He didn’t care for the hesitant note in Wayzz’s reply, but he was not going to let it upset him further. He needed to balance his emotions. He needed to meditate.

It did not help. He could only brood on her thinly (and some not so thinly) veiled accusations. After the third attempt to find balance and failing miserably, he knew all he could do was go to bed and hope he would have a clearer head come the morning.

He woke screaming in the cold gray light of pre-dawn, images of the destroyed Temple of the Guardians and his dead brethren swimming behind his eyelids, wordless accusations still ringing in his head. He strangled a sob down before it could escape. He had never felt so out of internal balance, not even back then, when all his attention had been devoted to surviving and protecting the miraculous.

Shaking, he rose from his bed, aching in so many ways, not all of them having to do with age. He needed tea to calm his nerves, and try to find his equilibrium.

He shuffled down to the kitchen, but froze in the doorway of the main room.

Like an accusation, the tea set still sat on the low table.

Rage bubbled in his breast.

Unthinkingly, his hands picked up the insolent girl’s empty teacup. He stared at it for a long moment before hurling it at the wall. Shards went everywhere. “Intruder,” he seethed. “She has no idea of what she interferes with.” How dare she—?

“Master?” Wayzz woke and hovered over him. “What is it?”

“Interloper!” He fumed. “I learned my lesson well about trusting outsiders at the fall of the Temple!”

“Master—?” Wayzz tried again but Fu was not in any frame of mind to let himself be soothed. “Master, please, you must calm yourself!”

“I will not. She has no right, no knowledge of what she thinks to speak upon—!”

_**“Master!”** _

This time the panic in Wayzz’s voice got through and Fu looked up from the destroyed cup. Above him a black-winged butterfly fluttered, trailing corruption in the air.

The anger froze into a hard lump of terror in his throat and all he could think was that it must not get to Wayzz or the other miraculous. He snatched up the nearest thing, the cane he used when he needed to appear as a harmless old man, and placed himself between the Akuma and his kwami. It must not infect Wayzz.

He had one last, desperate moment of clear thought and used it to rip the miraculous off his wrist, flinging it away as the butterfly darted toward him. “Wayzz! Hide the box and yourself! Quickly! You must  _ **not**_ be taken!”

The cane did him no favors. The black butterfly settled on it and began to meld into it. “No—!” He tried to fling it away but it was already far too late

A seductive voice overrode his will in spite of his struggles. _“Grand Master, you know who I am and what I desire, as I know your desire. I will give you the power to protect the miraculous from those who cannot be trusted to protect them.”_  
  
His last vestige of resistance crumbled under those words.  "Yes. I must take them away. They must be kept safe.“   
  
_"They will be,”_  Hawkmoth soothed. _“Once I have used the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir to make my wish come true, you will be able to take them. You will have the power to keep them safe… forever.”_

“Yes. Safe, always and forever.”

~~~~

The grin on Hawkmoth’s face was truly wicked. When he’d sensed the strong negative emotion all he’d known was it was an old man infuriated by ones younger than him. Instead he’d nabbed a prize he’d never dreamed of— a  _Guardian._  True, with the kwami hiding the other Miraculouses he couldn’t simply order them brought to him, but he could wait to find the turtle.

The other Miraculouses were merely icing on the cake. He needed Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s. And after Grand Master brought them to him, he’d be able to use the man’s knowledge to give Nooroo even more power.

What a wonderful twist of fate. Now at last, he would have everything he dreamed of.


	3. The Grand Master

This time Vivi woke Arthur early. The sun was just barely over the horizon and he groaned at her, pulling a pillow over his head. “It’s too early. Wake me at a decent hour.”

“Much as I’m enjoying the view,” A fingertip trailed up the bare leg sticking out from under the rumpled sheets, eliciting a shiver that ran all the way up his back. “I want to get a move on. We’re getting some breakfast at that lovely bakery—”

"And double checking my observations.” Lewis chuckled.

“Shoosh you. And then we’re doing a little more snooping before we go sightseeing. I plan on making short work of finding this butthead of a supervillain.”

They were out on the waking streets about twenty minutes later, Arthur grumbling along beside them. They were nearly to the bakery when a girl handing out cologne samples attached to flyers accosted them, handing a flyer to Arthur and Lewis. “Try the newest fragrance from Le Parfum Agreste, ‘Free Spirit’!”

Lewis smiled politely at her and tucked the sample flyer into his pocket. Arthur scowled at both the girl and the flyer impartially. Vivi was snickering at him when he paused, expression grim. “Hey, Vi? Still got that sharpie on you that you bought last night?”

She handed it over with a curious look and watched as he scribbled on the flyer. “I wasn’t sure last night, when you said you knew who they were, but yeah…” He turned the flyer around for their inspection. “Now I am.”  On the young blonde model he had drawn a black mask and a pair of pointed cat ears.

Vivi pursed her lips. “Mind you, I was bluffing a little, because that so-called 'master’ was getting on my nerves, but I had a pretty good idea. You just confirmed it. How has anyone here not noticed?”

“People see what they expect to see, love. They don’t see a teen model in a superhero. Or a baker’s daughter.” Lewis answered frankly.

Arthur frowned and stuffed the flyer in his pocket.

They arrived at the bakery shortly after. While Arthur and Vivi picked out pastries, Lewis scoped out everything else. When Sabine Cheng called up the stairs,  _“Marinette, you’ll be late for your field trip!”_  and a flustered girl stumbled down the steps to give her mother a hasty hug, it was clear to see she was exactly who Lewis had said she was.

It was even more noticeable when she tripped over her own feet upon spotting them. Her blue eyes were wide and shocked.

Lewis picked up the sketchbook she had dropped and handed it back with a smile. “Don’t forget this.”

It took her two tries to get out a thank you, and she bolted for the door as soon as she’d managed to stutter it.

“That girl…” Sabine shook her head fondly after her daughter. “Sorry about that. Did you decide what you wanted?”

“It’s fine,” Lewis said with practiced ease. “Seven-four is not a height you see every day.”

Sabine blinked, confused. Then her expression cleared. “Oh, you’re American. Your French is so good I never would have guessed.”

“Thank you. Um, how did you guess?” Lewis wondered.

“Metric system versus Imperial.” Arthur answered him easily. “If you were from pretty much anywhere but America, you would have given your height as two hundred twenty-four centimeters, or two point two four meters.”

Sabine smiled. “My— You both speak so fluently. If not for that, I never would have known you weren’t from around here!”

Vivi chuckled. “We all speak it.”

“Pretty  _fluidly,_  actually.” Arthur grinned and elbowed her. She broke down in a fit of snickering while Lewis sighed.

“Ignore them, please.” Lewis smiled pleasantly at Sabine. “I’ll start the order and if they haven’t stopped laughing by the time I’m done, they’ll miss out on getting what they want.”

“No fair,” Vivi whined.

“Then settle down and decide what you want.”

“I want to try everything!” Vivi flung her hands wide to encompass the whole bakery.

“I am not buying you some of everything, love. Get something we didn’t have yesterday. We still have time to try different treats.” Lewis folded his arms and tried to stare down Vivi.

“But, Lewis. One of  _everything—”_

“Don’t make me have to tell my parents they’re no longer your favorite supplier of sweets.”

Vivi gasped, scandalized. “You wouldn’t—!”

“Try me—”

“While they argue it out, I’d love a half-dozen of your croissants and a box of the mixed macarons,” Arthur smiled before turning his attention back to his squabbling spouses. “They can pay for their own. Oi, you two, there are other people who want to buy stuff!”

Vivi stuck her tongue out at Arthur. “You hush. You’re lucky I like you.”

Arthur held up his hand to display his golden wedding band. “No returns or exchanges.”

Sabine had a strange look on her face, glancing back and forth between the three of them. Rather than have her asking the question that could be seen burning in her eyes, Vivi and Lewis matched him, showing three matching wedding bands. “Yep, all of us.” Vivi chirped.

“Ahh,” Sabine flushed a little. “Forgive me. It’s not a common thing.”

“We’re used to it,” Lewis told her with a disarming grin.

After they had finally settled on the order, she began boxing up the pastries.

“Man, the posters of that kid are everywhere,” Arthur pointed out the window at a bus that prominently displayed the same young model from the flyer.

“Adrien Agreste. He’s a local celebrity,” Sabine said with a smile. “He’s in the same class as Marinette. She talks about him all the time. I honestly think she has a huge crush.”

Vivi’s grin was sly. “Oh, I think it’s possible he feels the same way.”

~~~~

Arthur wasn’t sure what had driven Vivi to drag them all to a museum after breakfast, but he honestly wasn’t complaining too much. Most of their research trips tended to be on the more— _hazardous_  side, so a popular museum, crowded with tourists and school groups, was by far a less stressful choice.

Or it was up until the whole building shuddered. An alarm sounded, a polite voice declaring there was an Akuma alert underway and to please proceed calmly to the nearest exit.

“Another one?” Vivi scowled. “Does this guy seriously have nothing better to do?”

The wall next to her rumbled and collapsed. Lewis managed to scoop her aside before she was hurt. “There you are, interloper!” echoed a loud and very angry voice.

Standing on the level above them was a character that looked like he had escaped a Noh performance.. He wore a horned red and white oni mask, crowned with wild red hair and an elaborate costume. In his hands he held a long, double-bladed staff. He swung it toward them and a glow of crimson power shot out from the sweep of the blade. Lewis yanked Vivi out of the way, but another woman nearby wasn’t so lucky. The scarlet power hit her and she transformed into a small, elaborate brooch, clattering to the floor.

“I am the Grand Master. I will turn you all into trinkets to keep the real treasure safe from your greedy, harmful kind!”

Glaring red eyes singled out Vivi and the Grand Master focused on her like a cat on a mouse. He swung his blade again. Three more people between Vivi and him were hit by the second sweep of scarlet and jewelry tinkled to the floor.

Vivi shook off Lewis’s hand and leapt to her feet. “You got a beef with me,  _Grand Mal Puppet?_ Come and get some, just leave innocents out of it!”

Lewis dropped his human guise, towering flames licking around his skeletal form. He flung a fireball at the Grand Master, who batted it harmlessly aside.“You shall not stop my wrath, specter!”

Lewis was unphased and summoned more balls of fire, lobbing them at the Grand Master, who dodged or swatted them aside. But he could not focus on Vivi, who was the obvious target of his ire. He swung the other end of his staff and this time the crimson force ripped through the wall above Lewis, showering him with bricks and debris.

There was still a school group nearby, and Arthur darted toward them, shouting back over his shoulder, “Keep the jewelry junkie busy while I get the innocents out of the way!”

“On it!” Vivi whistled at the Grand Master, still temporarily busy with Lewis. “Over here, you sad excuse for an Akuma! Hey, Lew, gimme something to work with!” Her frost-tinged bat was up and ready.

Lewis fired a fireball into the ceiling above the Grand Master. With a whoop of sirens, the sprinkler system activated. Lewis ducked under a staircase as water rained down.

“Hey, Grand Master, you need to  _chill out!”_  Vivi swung her bat and the water turned to ice in midair, a thousand deadly ice needles winging toward the masked Akuma.

Arthur ignored the tumult, herding the kids toward an exit. He had to grab a girl with a tumble of curls and shove her in front of him; she was too interested in filming the fight on her phone. “Record  _later!_ Run now!”

He grabbed a strangely familiar-looking blonde boy trying to take cover behind a display and crowded him and the girl toward the exit.

“None shall escape!” The Grand Master howled behind him.

 _ **“ARTIE!”**_ Vivi shrieked.

Arthur gave the two another shove and braced for whatever was headed his way. He’d take the hit to shield the kids.

He saw red in the corner of his eye and Ladybug was there, swinging in to grab the one nearest her, the blonde.

Arthur leapt for the girl and wrapped himself around her just before a wave of force slammed into his back.

Whatever it was hit him like a ton of bricks and his breath escaped in a pained hiss as he curled himself tightly around the girl. They hit a glass display case that shattered around them. Wheezing, and pretty sure one of his ribs was broken, Arthur did his best to shield her from the falling glass and bits of jewelry from the case.

He vaguely hoped they hadn’t been people once.

Ladybug touched down near him, her arm still around the boy she had pulled out of the way. Even through the haze of pain, Arthur recognized him as Adrien Agreste. He and Ladybug both had flushed cheeks and to judge by their expressions, it wasn’t exertion or fear. Adrien’s eyes were shining as he stared at his rescuer.

“Alya!” Ladybug reluctantly let go of Adrien and rushed over to where Arthur and the girl lay among the rubble of the display. “Are you guys okay?”

The girl, Alya, levered herself up off of Arthur. She had a cut on one cheek but was mostly unscathed. “I’m okay! This guy saved me!” She turned toward Arthur and gasped. From the look on her face, not to mention the thousand little pains he felt, Arthur could guess he didn’t look nearly as unharmed.

Ladybug gave Alya a gentle shove in the direction of Adrien. “Take Adrien and get out of the line of fire!”

Alya took off running, and Adrien followed after with one last worried glance back at Ladybug and Arthur.

With a wary look at where the Grand Master was trading blows with Lewis, staff versus fiery fists, Ladybug crouched next to Arthur. Her blush was gone and her cheeks were pale. “Thank you for saving her. Just stay still now. As soon as we defeat him, my miraculous cure should heal you.”

Grunting, Arthur pushed himself into a sitting position against the bottom of the display. “Be careful. One end of his staff turns people into jewelry and the other—” He barked a pained laugh. “Well, you can see what it does.”

She touched his metal hand. “I will, thanks. You stay still until we’ve taken care of him.”

Vivi had reached them by then and her worried gaze took in Arthur’s battered form. “Ladybug. can you get him out of here and to a hospital? Lewis and I can hold off the freak back there.”

Ladybug rose to her feet. “He’ll be okay, I promise. As soon as the Akuma is defeated, my miraculous cure will heal him and restore all the damage. We just have to stop the Akuma first.”

Vivi looked torn. Arthur waved his hand at her. “Go on, Vi. I’ll be fine. Help her take out the Grand Master guy, okay?”

Vivi crouched to drop a kiss on his temple. “Stay safe. I don’t need two ghost husbands.”

“Hey, don’t you know it’s bad form to cause a  _catastrophe_  in a museum?”

Ladybug looked up in relief. “There you are, kitty! Thought you weren’t coming!”

“I’d never miss a chance to see you, Milady.” Chat performed a neat bow where he was balanced on a railing above the fight.  "Is this a private  _cat_ -fight or can anyone join in?“ So saying, he dropped off his perch to block a swing of Grand Master’s bladed staff.  _"Ah-ah._  Not a trick worthy of anyone calling themselves a master!”

Grand Master screeched in frustration and flung Chat Noir back with another vicious swing of his weapon. “Stay out of this, foolish cat. The interloper must be stopped!”

“Stop _ **this!”**_ Vivi rejoined the fight with a strike from her bat to the Grand Master’s shoulder. Ice crystals formed on his elaborate sleeve where it struck.

Mad red eyes zeroed in on her and suddenly Chat Noir was ignored as Grand Master went after her. Vivi skipped back out of strike range.

Lewis risked the rain of the sprinklers to shield her from a second strike. The wave of force hit him and knocked him back several steps, leaving a ruin of his sleeve where the brunt of the blow had fallen. He grunted. “That _actually_  hurt.”

“Do you think I would have no skills against your ilk, spirit?” Grand Master mocked. “I am the protector of the miraculous. You cannot defeat me!”

Ladybug gasped, horrified. “M-master Fu?”

“I am Grand Master and I will protect the miraculous from you, unworthy of being near them,” Grand Master hissed, turning his attention to her.

Ladybug gasped and staggered. It hurt worse than a physical blow. She’d feared it, but hearing it… Even from an Akumatized Master Fu—!

Suddenly Chat was beside her, gripping her arm nearly hard enough to hurt. “Don’t listen to him, Milady. Your Kwami decided you were a worthy wielder of the Ladybug miraculous! Who would know best? Tikki or him?”

Her voice wavered. “I—” She looked up into Chat’s eyes. "T-Tikki thinks I’m one of the best Ladybug’s she’s ever had.”

“Then believe in her… And yourself, Milady. Like I believe in you.”

Ladybug looked in Chat’s eyes and drew in a deep breath, holding it before exhaling. “Thanks, my kitty. I needed to hear that.“ Ladybug drew herself up. "Thank you for believing in me too.”

“I—” Chat’s voice wavered, and his smile was strangely soft. "I’ll always believe in you, milady.”

She smiled at him. “I know you will, kitty. Now, let’s take the Grand Master out of play.”

“At your service,” His grin was back to full wattage. “Your black knight is ready to checkmate this master.”

Vivi was back in the fight with a vengeance, whaling away at Grand Master with her frost-edged bat. Even with one arm damaged, Lewis was sticking close to her, throwing fire at Grand Master.

Ladybug swung into play, planting both her feet in Grand Master’s back, throwing him forward into a strike of the bat. “It’s got to be the staff,” she called back to Chat, vaulting backward to land on the railing above the akumatized man.

“Right!” Chat used his baton to vault to the top of a statue. “Looks like we don’t rate in this fight, Milady!”

It was true. Grand Master’s attention was firmly focused on Vivi and Lewis. Whatever had driven Master Fu into being Akumatized, it must have had to do with them. Ladybug was pretty certain it was because of the confrontation last night.

Ladybug went in for another attack, but the Grand Master saw her coming and hit her with a glancing blow from one end of his staff. It flung her back, and she landed in a panting crouch near where Arthur was slumped at the foot of the shattered display case.

“He’s still not distracted enough for us to land a hit, Chat. Think you can help keeping him busy?”

“Always!” Chat gave her a smirk and a flippant salute, springing in to block a blow aimed at Vivi. “Don’t you get it? She’s way too _cool_ for you!”

Grand Master growled and shoved him back several paces. Lewis steadied him and aimed a fireball at Grand Master’s face. It blinded him but only for a moment and he lashed out with another wave of red-hued power. It forced them all to dodge.

There was a tinkle of broken glass, and Ladybug glanced over to see Arthur laboriously pushing himself more upright. “Hey, Master of nothing! Admit it. You’re just a coward! Afraid to let the miraculous join the fight and too scared to own up to it! So you picked kids to cover your butt!”

Grand Master’s attention snapped to Arthur.

Arthur deliberately winked at Ladybug and forced himself to his feet, shedding bits of glass and jewelry with every movement. “You know we’re right, and that’s how Hawkmoth got his claws into you!”

It worked too well. Grand Master howled with rage and swept Chat aside as if he weighed nothing. “You know nothing!  _You_  are unworthy! I shall protect them from you!”

He lunged toward Arthur.

Ladybug forced herself into motion and yanked Arthur away as gently as she dared. He groaned and nearly collapsed against her.

Vivi shrieked another battle cry and slammed her bat down on the back of the Akuma’s head.

Arthur forced himself upright and shoved her away, leaning heavily on the wall. “Go. I can piss him off enough to give you the opening you need!” He barked a harsh, painful laugh. “Trust me. It’s what I’m good at.” He gave her another shove. “Hey, spineless! Man up and stop hiding behind kids!”

Grand Master howled and lunged again, though Lewis was quick to block him this time, but Arthur certainly had managed to fan his rage into a inferno.

Ladybug decided she’d best risk her “Lucky Charm!” Her miraculous dropped a round, red and black shield into her hands.  _“Really?”_

She brought it up in time to deflect another blow of magic meant for Arthur. She wasn’t sure what had done it, but now all of Grand Master’s ire was focused squarely on him. It was more than enough distraction— if they could keep him from killing Arthur _before_ they defeated him!

She glanced around, hoping for inspiration to strike. Water from the sprinklers pooled everywhere and ran down the stairs from the second level. Vivi’s frost-rimed bat caught her eye and a plan started to form. Hoping Lewis could defend Arthur for a moment, she grabbed Vivi’s sleeve and whispered her plan to her.

Brows creased in concern, Vivi nodded and turned her attention to the stairs. Ladybug caught Chat’s eye and jerked her head toward the railing of the second floor. He caught on and vaulted up to it. She followed, shield tucked under her arm.

Vivi swung her bat and the water sheeting down the stairs turned to a solid layer of ice.

Ladybug dropped the shield at the top of the stairs, nodding at Vivi who went to help Lewis herd the Grand Master into position.

Chat had obviously deduced her plan, standing with one foot braced on the edge of the shield. “With my shield, or on it, Milady?”

“Little of both this time,” she smiled at him. He took position in the curve of the shield, and called on his Cataclysm. His clawed glove glowed with dark power.

Ladybug braced her foot on the back of the shield and pushed.

Chat surfed it down the stairs like he’d done it all his life, and used the forward momentum when it smacked into the floor to launch himself into an arc right over Grand Master’s head. His hand landed on the stave of the double-bladed staff and the weapon began to disintegrate into black dust.

Grand Master staggered and went to his knees, his Akumatized form fading away and leaving a stunned Master Fu in his place.

Ladybug hurriedly caught the Akuma that fluttered away from the ruined weapon. She released it after it was purified with her usual words of farewell and hurried to scoop up the shield. Arthur looked horrible and she was desperate to help him.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” She flung the shield upwards, watching as it blossomed into the swarm of ladybugs that would fix everything. The shattered case was restored and the rest of the damage too. The ladybugs swirled around Arthur where he sagged heavily against Lewis and his wounds vanished. Lastly, Lewis’s damaged arm was also healed.

Ladybug allowed herself a sigh of relief before hurrying to Master Fu’s side and helping him sit up. “Master Fu!”

He looked up at her, his eyes haunted. “I could not keep him out. He knows I am the Guardian, but he could not command me to hand over the box, because I bade Wayyz to hide it before I was subsumed by his power.”

Ladybug sagged. “At least the miraculous are safe for now, but he knows where to find you now. We have to get you to a safe place.”

Master Fu struggled to his feet with her aid, accepting his restored cane from Chat and leaning heavily on it. “I feared this day might come. I have a second safe-house. It is not as comfortable as my current one, but everything can be moved there in short order.”

“We can help with that, if you’re willing to let us.” Vivi stood in front of Master Fu, her bat gone, and her hand extended. She had a wary look on her face.

Master Fu regarded her, unblinking, for a long moment. Then he solemnly accepted her hand. “We have much to discuss, I believe.”

Ladybug’s earrings chirped a warning. She groaned. “I have to go before I transform back. But as soon as I’ve fed Tikki, I’ll be back. We need to get you and the box to safety, Master Fu.”

There was something old and sad in his face. “I think, perhaps you should call me Fu. I do not deserve the title of Master. Perhaps— I never did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. I was sick as heck last weekend. Still trying to get over it, but it was a while before I had the energy to take formatting it.)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the battle.


	4. Outted

“Go, ” Vivi told Ladybug. “We’ll meet you at the park where we first met.”

“I have a few more minutes, Milady, before I have to transform back. I can distract the news crews for you.”

“I can help with that.” Vivi waved at Lewis, who was examining Arthur as if he wasn’t sure the wounds had really healed. “I can play a hapless, frightened witness with the very best of them. Lewis and Arthur can take him there and protect him while we handle the news and police. Lewis is really noticeable, so best if they bug out now. Someone might connect the dots between him and the fire ghost battling the Grand Master.”

Ladybug squeaked but nodded. “It’s a plan. Chat, I’m counting on you.”

“See you soon, Milady.” Chat offered a flippant salute.

Ladybug nodded and took herself off.

Lewis and Arthur both kissed Vivi quickly before hustling Master Fu out the nearest door, doing their best to meld with the milling crowd of people who had evacuated from the museum. It wasn’t hard considering the police and news crews were too busy flocking to Chat Noir, emerging from a different door.

Hunching over to make himself seem smaller, Lewis didn’t even realize Arthur was lagging until he caught up and slipped his fingers into Lewis’s hand. “They aren’t just superheroes,” he said, looking back over his shoulder at Chat smiling for the cameras. “They’re more. They are the people’s heroes. Look at that.” Lewis and Fu stopped to look back at Chat, still talking candidly with a reporter. He paused to crouch and tousle the curls of a toddler that had wandered up to him. Picking her up, he returned her to her smiling, grateful mother and then swept into a theatrical bow before using his baton to vault away. People in the crowd cheered until he was out of sight.

Fu sighed heavily but said nothing, his gaze turned inward as they caught a bus back to the park.

Ladybug arrived about ten minutes after they had gotten there, panting a little as she dropped from a rooftop and jogged over to join them.  She looked over Arthur, smiling a little in relief. “The miraculous cure always works but…”

“It helps to see with your own eyes,” Arthur finished, spreading both arms and turning in a small circle to prove he was unhurt.

Ladybug sighed. “Yes. I’m glad you’re okay. Thank you for jumping to save Alya— the girl. She runs a blog about Chat and I, and is really good about not posting anything that could get people hurt, though she’s rather good at putting herself in danger to get a story.” Her sigh was full of fond exasperation.

Arthur shrugged his right shoulder. “I’m not too fond of jumping into danger myself but I wasn’t going to let anyone get hurt when I could help.”

“Still, thank you.”

Arthur reached out and gently tugged one of her ponytails. “Thank me by reminding her, again and again, if you have to, that no scoop is worth her life.”

Her smile was genuine. “I will.”

They both looked up at a shout. Vivi was trotting over the grass toward them, waving.

Lewis hurried over to her and scooped her up in a hug. Laughing, she threw her arms around his neck. “I wasn’t the one hurt, silly,” she chided.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t be glad to see you. Where’s Chat?” Lewis let her slide back to the ground.

“He said he’ll be along shortly. He had to run off. His ring was chirping.”

Ladybug came over. “It means he had to de-transform and feed his Kwami. Using our special powers in battle drains them and they need to recharge. That’s why I ran off first. I was in danger of being caught out if I didn’t.”

Vivi nodded and slipped her hand into Lewis’s as they walked back to the bench where Arthur stood over Fu, who still looked worn and defeated. “We’ll head to— the former house when he gets here. I’m guessing Hawkmoth has to recover too, so best we get as much done as we can before he sends a new Akuma to try and take the miraculous.”

Fu looked up, seeming older than ever. “I ordered Wayzz to hide the box that contains the miraculous. Even if Hawkmoth had sought the location of the box through me, I could not tell him what I did not know. We must find Wayzz to find the box. Most everything else can be replaced if need be, but it is imperative we find and protect the miraculous from Hawkmoth.”

“We will,” Chat’s voice called down from a nearby tree. He dropped out of the branches to land in a neat crouch. “I think I caught a whiff of Wayzz. With luck,” he grinned at Ladybug as he trotted up to her. “I can pick up a better scent there and track him down.”

Ladybug tilted her head. “Um… I didn’t know you could do— that?”

Chat caught her hand and bowed over it, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “There’s a lot about this cat you don’t know, to be purr-fectly honest, Milady.”

She tugged her hand away, poking him in the nose. “Behave yourself, kitty.”

Fu rose, and walked over to them, carefully, like he might break apart at the seams. “I was also unaware you could track by scent. How long have you had this ability, Chat Noir?”

Chat dropped the playacting. “A couple of weeks, I think. Either, it’s getting stronger, or I’m getting better at it. I—” he glanced at Lewis. “I could tell he wasn’t human. I sensed him before I smelled him, but once I got a whiff, I knew he was something different.” He paused uncertainly. “Is something wrong with that?”

For the first time since the museum, Fu smiled. “No, not at all. It means you and Plagg have become more attuned to each other. A strengthening of the bond, if you will.”

Chat’s lopsided smile was rueful. “As long as I don’t start craving that awful cheese he eats, I can live with it.”

Vivi clapped her hands. “Alright, sounds like a game plan. Chat, you and Ladybug are on ‘find the kwami’ detail. The rest of us are headed to pack. Meet us there when you’ve found him.”

Ladybug nodded, and flung her yoyo, pulling herself into the air and away from them. Chat was close behind. They landed on a rooftop near where Chat had last caught Wayzz’s scent, and he dropped to the ground in an alley, stopping and taking deep breaths through his nose.

Ladybug watched him in fascination. Chat did indeed remind her of a cat. First it was the purring and now this. She wondered if she would pick up any odd traits too.

“Got it,” he called up to her. She dropped down beside him. “He probably tried to stick to alleys and back ways. Hard to hide a floating phonograph on a busy street.”

“Wonder what he thinks is a safe place for it?”

Chat shrugged. “Won’t know till we get there. Unfortunately, he stayed low, probably because of the weight of the box. So that means we’ll have to, as well.”

“Lead on, Kitty-cat.”

Chat tailed the scent through dimly lit alleys and backstreets until he paused with a puzzled look. Before Ladybug could ask what was wrong, he used his baton to propel himself up to the low roof of the building nearest them. He sniffed the air and then took a good look around. “This… this is odd, Milady.”

Ladybug swung up to stand beside him. “What is?” It was only then that she saw where they were. Not two streets away, she could see her own roof. “Uhh…”

“Why here?” Chat crouched at the edge of the roof, staring fixedly at her rooftop balcony. “Why would he be bringing the box here?”

Ladybug searched desperately for something to say that wouldn’t give herself away.  _Why had Wayzz come here?_

“Wait, you know Marinette too, right? Maybe Wayzz thought she could lead him to you.”

Ladybug grasped after the feeble excuse with both hands. “Y-yeah, that’s probably it. I may have mentioned her to Master Fu, and the poor little guy didn’t know where else to go!”

Chat just nodded and she breathed a silent sigh of relief that he bought it. Chat vaulted towards her balcony and she was quick to follow.

“She’s probably not home, though.” Chat glanced back at her as he alighted on the railing. She landed next to him with a sigh. “She should still be at the— in school.”

She wondered about his sudden correction, but was too glad that things were falling into place like they were. “Yes, probably.” And wasn’t she going to have to do some explaining about never showing up after the Akuma attack. She’d probably get grounded again.

Her parents were downstairs in the bakery, so she didn’t have to fear them hearing her. “Wayzz? Are you here?”

“Ladybug!” The small, green turtle-shaped projectile slammed into her chest at high speed. “The  _master—!”_

“Shhh,” she soothed, stroking Wayzz’s head. “Master Fu is fine. We rescued him from Hawkmoth’s Akuma. The three we brought over last night are protecting him while Chat and I came to find you.”

Wayzz sagged against her supporting hands. “He ordered me away to protect the box, but I am supposed to protect him!” The normally stoic kwami’s voice was almost a wail.

Ladybug’s heart broke a little. _“Shhh-shh._ I know it didn’t feel like it, but you did the right thing. I promise, Master Fu is safe.”

Wayzz stared up into her eyes. He was the kwami of protection and took Master Fu’s Akumatization as a personal failure. “I did not know where else to go.”

“I know…” She cradled him close. “He’s okay. We’re going to move him to a new safehouse today. Let’s get you back to him, alright?”

Wayzz nodded against her, before pointing to the table where her potted plants lived. In the small space between it and the wall, the miraculous box was wedged, along with his own miraculous, looking far too small not on Master Fu’s wrist where it belonged. Ladybug settled Wayzz on her shoulder and pulled the box out. Propping it against her hip, she scooped up the bracelet that held Wayzz’s miraculous and offered it to her partner. “Chat, you carry the bracelet, just to be on the safe side. Vivi’s probably right that he can’t send another Akuma out yet, but—”

Chat nodded, tucking the bracelet into a pocket on his suit. “Let’s not risk it.”

As long as the trip to track down Wayzz had been, the return trip took no time at all by rooftop. Soon they were alighting on the banks of the Seine not far from where an elderly man stared morosely at a flock of pigeons from a bench.

Wayzz took off like a bolt of lightning from Ladybug’s shoulder, scattering pigeons left and right. **“Master!”**

Fu turned, relief washing over his face. “Wayzz!”

The turtle Kwami thumped against Fu’s chest and clung. “I cannot protect you if you send me away!”

Fu managed a small chuckle, accepting the brusque affection of the Kwami. “You were protecting the miraculous. As you should. That takes precedence over one old man.”

“It wasn’t a choice he should have had to make, Master.” Ladybug trotted over.

Chat followed her, and solemnly offered the bracelet back to Fu. Wayzz hovered directly in front of Fu’s eyes after he put it on. His little face was grim. “Do  _not_ make me choose that again, master.”

Vivi, Lewis and Arthur came down the steps to the bank, Vivi waving a greeting.

“We need to get everything moved as quickly as possible,” Ladybug said, cradling the miraculous box to her chest while Wayzz contented himself that Fu was alright.

“Well, at least you have Lewis and Arthur for the heavy lifting.” Vivi snickered as they came up to the three miraculous users..

“Yeah, but that brings up a new problem,” Chat scratched the back of his neck. “We— we can’t be seen near the new safehouse. We can’t risk Hawkmoth finding out where it is… and well, most of Paris plays the _‘spot the superheroes’_ game.”

“But what can we do?” Ladybug shifted her weight and finally set the box down.

Arthur sighed. “There is a way you know.”

“What?” Ladybug goggled at Arthur as he reached up to tap the area next to his eye. It took her a minute to find her voice. “We… we can’t.”

“Look, guys, I know you are trying to keep each other safe, but frankly, an accidental reveal could happen. Wouldn’t it be better to have a partner who knows, and will protect your identity as fiercely as they do their own?” Vivi asked, hands on her hips.

Fu looked up from the kwami darting around him. “There is a greater risk than you think. Hawkmoth was able to take me over, and thus, he learned with absolute certainty that there was a Guardian in Paris, where he only suspected before. The only reason he could not actually capture the box was I commanded my kwami to hide it before he subsumed my will. I think only my rage at her—” He tipped his head at Vivi. “Kept him from knowing all that I know. Ironically, the fury that first attracted him to me also shielded what he most would have wanted to know.” He shook his head. “If he were actually to take one of them over, knowing the other’s identity could be—”

“Catastrophic.” Chat finished, his tone deadly serious.

Vivi puffed out her cheeks, expression thoughtful. “So Hawkmoth works like a possession, right?”

“He uses a victim’s high emotion to subsume, via his kwami. Nooroo is capable of transmitting his mind, to overwhelm them, through that emotion.” Fu explained. “In theory, I suppose, it is something like a possession.”

“Like— like in the movies?” Ladybug shuddered.

“Less Hollywood and more insidious,” Vivi answered. “Possession controls a victim from the inside out. Depending on the being in the driver’s seat, it can strip-mine them too, first of their control, then their memories and knowledge, and finally of their will to live. At that point, there is nothing left of the victim at all, only—”

“A meat puppet, used by the controlling entity to find a new host and repeat the cycle.” Arthur spoke through clenched teeth, paler now than when he’d lost so much blood in the Akuma attack.

Lewis put a hand on his shoulder and Arthur sagged against him. “We— well, we have some experience in that.” Lewis said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “It’s how we wound up with me dead and Arthur down an arm—”

“And me with gaping holes in my memory,” Vivi shook her head. “But that’s neither here nor now. It means that Arthur fought off Hawkmoth because of that. And that means we have a leg up. Hawkmoth got no info from his short attempt at taking Arthur over or he would have armored you, as Grand Master, better against our abilities. You sensed some,” she gestured at Lewis. “But not knowing left your Akumatized self vulnerable.”

“So what are you suggesting? That I send these two off against a dangerous entity to learn how to battle intrusions into their mind? That is greater folly than—”

“Being _entirely_ untrained?” Vivi said too-sweetly. “We don’t have to. Ghosts are capable of possession too. Lewis can help them learn how to resist, at least long enough for one of us to come to their aid.”

“You want us to let a ghost possess us?” Ladybug’s heart was in her throat.

“No,” Vivi returned flatly. “I want you to fight him tooth and nail. Because that will mean you’ll know how to fight Hawkmoth if he tries.”

Ladybug knew all her nerves were showing. She’d seen what Lewis could do, there in the fight with Grand Master. She didn’t think she could stand up to him even with Tikki. “I—”

“Perhaps, though, we might try with something a bit easier than me,” Lewis offered with a gentle smile. He was ridiculously overpowered for a ghost and he knew it wasn’t just his ego talking. He opened his hand and pink wisps condensed into a form. Bright yellow eyes and pink, the formless spirit became a solid shape.

She didn’t know what it was, but— “It’s so cute,” Ladybug breathed, inching closer, wanting to touch

“This is Piano, one of my deadbeats; she’s a bit of a softy, but perfect for beginner’s practice.” Lewis explained while the timid-looking deadbeat peeked between his fingers. “I promise, she— and I— will never hurt you, but we want to help you protect yourself.”

Ladybug puffed out her cheeks and glanced at Chat. He was her partner and she trusted him.

He came closer, bending over to peer at the creature in Lewis’s hand. “I don’t know how this little marshmallow is supposed help us learn to fight off Hawkmoth. It doesn’t look like it could possess a pillow.” He poked at Piano with one clawed fingertip.

The deadbeat uncoiled and sank pink fangs into his hand. He stiffened.

“Chat?” Ladybug gasped, alarmed, as Piano vanished.

Chat dropped into a crouch and coiled around her legs, purring at top volume. “Chat!” Her cheeks flared red. “Stop that, kitty! This is not the time for your kittenish antics!”

Lewis only smiled. “For all she’s acting out her similarity to a cat, that isn’t Chat. Piano is the one in the driver’s seat at the moment.”

Ladybug stifled another gasp.

“This is another good learning opportunity. Not all possessions are quite as obvious as Hawkmoth’s.” Lewis placed a finger under Chat’s chin and tilted it up. His eyes were as cat-like as they usually were, but glowing bright pink instead of green. “Eyes are the windows of the soul. They’re the fastest way to tell if someone else is in the driver’s seat.” He released Chat’s chin. “That’s enough for now, Piano. Let him go.”

The little deadbeat reappeared, curling around Lewis’s shoulders and cooing, obviously proud of itself.

Chat sat down with a thump in the grass. “Ooo— okay, that was super weird. Can we not do that again, please?”

Vivi crouched next to him and offered her hand. “I wish it could be that easy. But would you rather have Hawkmoth hurt someone you care about? Or worse?”

Her eyes darted sideways to where Ladybug stood and Chat flinched, ears flattening to his skull. “No. Never.” He pulled himself to his feet. “I’d sooner die.”

“Let’s do what we can to see about that never happening,” Arthur came closer, resting a hand on Chat’s shoulder and squeezing. Chat sagged a little in place and Ladybug couldn’t help but step in and slide an arm around his waist. His smile was faltering, but real enough.

She smiled softly and touched his cheek before going over to where Master Fu sat, silent. “Master?”

“Fu,” he interrupted her softly. “I have done  _much_  wrong this day.”

“Vivi..” Arthur murmured softly, cutting Vivi a pointed look.

She stepped forward, standing next to Ladybug. “Then today is the time to start trying to fix it. We’ll be here to help.” She extended her hand.

Fu regarded her, something old and sad in his eyes. “Yes,” He said at last, meeting her hand with his and giving it a firm shake.

“We’ll get through this. We’ll stop him.” Vivi’s tone was firm. “But for now, let’s get you safely moved.” She turned her gaze to Ladybug, who gulped.

“D-did you mean it? What you said about knowing who we are?”

“I did.” Vivi nodded. “Let me put it this way. I said with a clue to chew on, I could find out a lot. Ready for an example?”

Ladybug steeled herself. She nodded, taking a deep breath.

“We have discovered the most ridiculous love quadrangle in the world.” Vivi rolled her eyes fondly, a smile growing on her face.

“Eh?” Startled by the nonsequiteur, Ladybug looked up and met her eyes.

“At least in part because it only contains two people.” Arthur added. He obviously knew what his wife was up to to judge by the affectionate smile on his face.

“Wait, that makes no sense. A quadrangle has to be at least four sides… thus, four people.” Chat pointed out.

“Let me put it bluntly.” Vivi turned as Lewis spoke. “The person Ladybug’s in love with is Adrien Agreste.”

Ladybug stared at Lewis in absolute, mortified horror. “What…How…How could you possibly have known?”  _Oh no, now Chat was going to think she was one of those lame brain celebrity fangirls._ Her brain was a panicked whirl.

Chat stood frozen in his spot, green eyes blown wide. Then— he laughed. It wasn’t a hysterical laugh, or a mocking one. It was as if some deep happiness had bubbled up inside him and couldn’t be contained any longer.

“Kitty?” Ladybug asked, concern for him breaking through her panic.

But Chat just continued to laugh, tears of joy streaming down his face. He looked Ladybug in the face with a smile so bright and brilliant she never noticed his hand pulling the ring from his finger.

Ladybug realized what he was doing a split second too late to close her eyes. But any protest that they weren’t supposed to know each other’s identities died on her tongue.

“A-A-Adrien?” She gasped, shaking.

“At your service, Milady,” Adrien said with a bow that was all Chat Noir. “I should have known the only one whose charms could compare with mine was  _me_  all along.” His grin was sly, more Chat than Adrien’s practiced and polished one.

It was like Chat through an Adrien lens or…or Adrien through a Chat lens. “Aba? Aaduba? Wha—? How you Chat— could Adrien— be—  _How??”_  She stammered, flailing her hands wildly.

Chat chuckled. “Now you sound just like Marinette.” Wait. His eyes widened.  _Just_ like… “M-Marinette?”

She eeped, her face as red as her mask. “We weren’t supposed to know…” Well that ship had thoroughly sailed. Marinette looked down, twisting her hands together. “You’re not disappointed it’s me, are you?”

“With you, Milady? Never.” Adrien’s smile was so wide it made her cheeks ache just to look at it. No— it was because she was smiling just as widely.

Chat— Adrien— opened his arms to her and she sank into his hold like she was coming home.

“Well, we stopped that nonsense.” Arthur said dryly, reeling a laughing Vivi in for a kiss.

Lewis was chuckling so hard his hair was throwing off sparks.

When Marinette could breathe again, she touched Adrien’s cheek and turned to Vivi. “How? How could you know all that about us? You only met us two days ago.”

Vivi chuckled, her arm around Arthur’s waist. “Trained observer. Ghosts— with some exceptions— aren’t the most vocal or coherent of beings. You have to learn to pick out the smallest clues.” She wasn’t going to tell them that they weren’t that good at hiding it.

Marinette felt the shimmer of her transformation giving way, and Tikki hovered over her shoulder. “I trust you will keep what you know safe,” she said solemnly to all of them. “A pleasure to meet you properly, Adrien. Do put your ring back on, though. We cannot protect you if you are not wearing our miraculous.”

Adrien flushed red. “Oops.” He slipped his ring back on and Plagg appeared. “Don’t do that again, kid. Heya, Spots. Hello, Sugar Cube.”

“H-hi again, Plagg.” Marinette waved her fingers timidly at Plagg before finding her courage and slipping her hand into Adrien’s. His fingers tightened around hers in a comforting squeeze.

“Hello, Plagg.” Tikki’s sigh was put upon. “And stop calling me that.”

Adrien squeezed Marinette’s hand again, but his attention was on Vivi. “Um— why? I mean, you could have just told us you knew. Why— why out our crushes?”

Marinette turned to VIvi, whose face had softened with a almost dreadful sadness. “Because time was short. I needed to prove it with something that you wouldn’t automatically deny.”

“Vi,” Arthur chided softly. He held out his hand to Lewis, who clung to it with an almost desperate grasp. “Don’t sugar-coat it. They’ve been fighting a war and they—” he looked down at Adrien.  _“You_  know the risks. Don’t put important things— and  _nothing_  is more important than love— off, because we don’t always get a second chance.”

Marinette could almost feel the weight of his words. They had let bits of their history slip before, but… She looked at Lewis, and something clicked. She knew logically he was a ghost, but it struck her anew. He was dead. He had died, and from the almost guilty, mournful air he had, it had been before… before the three of them had admitted to loving each other. If he hadn’t come back as a ghost…

Her fingers tightened almost painfully on Adrien’s. She understood— and from the return squeeze she got, Adrien did too.

Vivi cleared her throat in an obvious ploy to change the subject. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we? I don’t know how long Hawkmoth’s refractory period is, so let’s get moving before he can get it up again.”

“Vivi!” Lewis yelped, his hair flaring and his face red. “Not in front of the kids!”

Arthur was snickering into a fist, the tension from earlier snapping just like that, though Marinette didn’t get the reason why.

“Ooh, her, I like…!” Plagg crowed gleefully, rolling in the air.

“Plagg!” Tikki’s voice could have cut steel.

The Kwami of destruction eeped and hid behind Vivi. “Now, now, Sugar Cube—!”

“Don’t you ‘Sugar cube,’ me!”

Marinette could only lean gently against Adrien, watching Tikki chase after a gleefully snickering Plagg.

Master Fu shook his head and led the way to his soon-to-be-abandoned home, his steps slow and heavy. Marinette ached for him.

He let them in, staring morosely at the shattered teacup. Silently, Vivi crouched and began to pick up the pieces.

Marinette looked around, feeling a little helpless. She didn’t want Fu to have to move, but he was right. Hawkmoth knew where he was now, and would send out a new akuma at the first chance he had. “Um, Master Fu… what would you like us to do?”

Fu closed his eyes as if in pain, “Fu, please. I told you, I do not deserve the title of master. Could you please rinse and pack what remains of my poor tea set? I believe there are boxes in the kitchen pantry.”

Marinette winced. “Yes, Mas—” she cut herself off. She could not call him just Fu.

“Maybe you don’t,” Arthur said, holding his metal hand in a cup for Viv to deposit the shards of porcelain into. “Right now. But you can work to deserve it again.” he glanced over at Lewis. “That’s a lesson we can all learn.”

Lewis sighed and bent to brush a hand over Arthur’s spiky hair. “We did. Now it’s our turn to help someone else understand it.”

Adrien squeezed her hand, and Marinette finally found herself moving. Adrien helped her carry the teapot and cups to the sink, and dug in the pantry for a box while she washed the residue of last night’s very awkward tea from them. She couldn’t help sneaking sideways glances at him. Chat… It was hard to believe, her silly, pun-loving kitty— being Adrien. Some things made a lot more sense now, but there were other questions emerging too.

Blushing, she ducked her head and concentrated on the warm soapy water. He said he wasn’t disappointed, but how could he not be, at least a little? She wasn’t the same outside of the mask, any more than he was.

“I could hear you thinking all the way over there.” Adrien spoke close to her ear.

She eeped and nearly dropped the teapot. His hand shot out and caught it neatly. She fumbled to take it back, eyes down. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he soothed. “Just tell me what you has all tied up in knots.”

She hunched her shoulders. She didn’t want to tell him. “I’m… I’m different when I’m Ladybug. Tikki gives me strength and skills and confidence… and so many other things! Without her, I’m just—”

“Everyday Ladybug,” Adrien interrupted. He reached out and tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. “Remember? I called you that before. I still mean it.” His smile was soft, loving, and she wanted desperately to kiss it. It was startling how much of Chat she could see in him, now that she was looking. How had she never noticed before? “Even outside the mask, you are still a hero, just a little less publicly.”

She gave in to the urge and leaned in, at the last moment changing her target and kissing his cheek. She pulled back, flushed with her newfound bravery.

Adrien pressed a hand to his cheek and blushed, a wide grin growing on his face. “Milady.”

She huffed a tiny laugh. “You need to find another nickname when we’re not suited up.”

“I like it when you call me kitty, but I get the point.” Adrien set the box she hadn’t noticed in his hand on the counter, carefully, and almost tentatively slipping his arm around her waist. “I could call you ‘Purr-incess’.”

A giggle escaped her. “Not a chance. That would give you away too easily.” But she leaned into him. “Beside, you called me that before, just as Chat.”

“So I suppose Buginette is out too?” His smile turned wicked, all Chat Noir.

Marinette laughed helplessly. “Stop trying to give away our identities!”

He chuckled. “Got you to stop stressing, didn’t it?”

She gaped at him. “You— you brat!”

He laughed, leaning in. “Your brat cat.”

An undignified snort escaped her. “Fine. Brat you are.”

“I like it,” he grinned at her, something warm in his green eyes. “How about ‘my Ladylove’?”

Marinette nearly combusted on the spot. “Adrien!”

“I don’t think it gives it away, not when it’s how I feel.”

All her breath escaped her. “I—”

“Okay, okay! You love each other. Is there any real cheese in this place? You can’t be that cheesy and not have actual cheese, that’s illegal!” Plagg darted into the kitchen, swirling around their heads like a wind-blown leaf. “I’m starving!”

Adrien puffed out his cheeks in a sigh. “You are a glutton.”

“Your point?”

Marinette reluctantly disentangled herself from Adrien’s arm and padded over to Master Fu’s refrigerator. “I don’t know if he has any, but I’m sure he won’t mind if we look.”

“Sweet Camembert.” Plagg was practically drooling.

Adrien wrinkled his nose. “I hope he has better taste than that.”

“Hey!”

They didn’t find Camembert, but Plagg was assuaged by a container of goat cheese. “It’ll do for now, but I expect some of the good stuff when we get home.”

Marinette wrapped the tea set in some clean dishtowels and packed it in the box, while Plagg made an unashamed pig of himself. She carried it out to the main room, Adrien following behind her with some more boxes.

Vivi was carefully packing Master Fu’s magical supplies under the supervision of Wayzz. Lewis, Arthur and Fu were nowhere to be seen, as was the credenza that had held the phonograph disguise for the miraculous box and the low table.

Vivi tipped her head at where a suitcase and several boxes sat. “Put it over there until they get back. Fu’s going to pack up his room when he gets back; you think you guys can manage the kitchen? He said there’s a cooler for the cold stuff under the sink.” She squinted at a glowing blue jar before carefully wrapping it in a piece of fabric.”I really need to ask where he gets his magic supplies,” she muttered, crading it into a slot in the box at her side. “Some of this stuff is pretty hard to come by.”

“The master knows several people who can supply his needs.” Wayzz settled on the edge of the box. “He is very well-connected.”

Vivi wrapped another vial and slotted it into place. “I hope he’s willing to share his suppliers. I want to be well-armed for Hawkmoth’s next trick.”

“I will supply you,” Fu’s tired voice came from the doorway. “It is a place to start restoring myself to honor.”

Vivi rolled her eyes. “The name of your suppliers and whatever I need to establish credentials in their eyes will do, thank you. I can manage to select my own tools.”

Fu sagged in place. “As you wish.”

Lewis patted his shoulder as he sidled into the room past Fu. “Don’t take it the wrong way. Vivi learned her stuff from a couple of really tough masters and she always wants to vet her spell ingredients.”

Fu sighed and moved off to pack his bedroom, his steps slow. He looked every second of his age, Marinette thought sadly, her shoulders slumping.

Vivi looked up at her. “Give it time. He’s feeling beaten, in more than one way. But he can recover from it. Even he knows this was not the worst thing that could happen. But right now it feels like a terrible defeat.”

Arthur leaned over to kiss Vivi’s temple, picking up the box she had just taped shut. “He knows that. And he knows you were right. It’s a step in the right direction. You gave that to him.”

She leaned up to kiss him again. “I know how much he’s hurting. But he knows I can’t be soft on him, either. Not now. We don’t have the time.”

Marinette turned at Adrien’s gentle touch on her shoulder. He tipped his head back at the kitchen and she nodded. Vivi was right. Time was not on their side.

~~~~

It took most of the afternoon to move everything remotely portable to the second safehouse, a smaller place in a quiet row of flats. They were all tired and overheated from the warm spring sun. Marinette was putting the last of the perishables in the refrigerator, enjoying the cool air from the device.

Vivi came into the kitchen, pulling her blue hair, darkened with sweat, off of the nape of her neck. “Phew, I don’t know about you guys, but I could use a break and something cool.”

Adrien looked up from his phone. “Hey, Nino says André’s cart isn’t far from here.” He grinned at Marinette. “Wanna get some— together this time?”

Blushing, she could only manage a squeak and a frantic nod.

Adrien glanced up at Vivi, his smile bright and endearing. “André has an ice cream cart and everyone says his ice cream is the best in Paris. It’s supposed to be magical, help you find your true love and stay together.”

“Magical?” Arthur stuck his head in. “While I’m all for ice cream, magic ice cream doesn’t really sound like a good idea.”

Vivi stuck her tongue out at him. “You forget your wife is a magic user, love?”

“Never.”

“I doubt there’s any real magic in it. Besides, I’ll recognize anything inimical in it.” Vivi stretched. “And I could definitely use something to cool down.”

Arthur rolled his eyes affectionately at her. “Fine. Not a whole lot more we can do here beyond unpacking, and Fu knows more about where his things go than we do.”

Marinette glanced worriedly over at where Fu was morosely contemplating his incomplete tea set, turning one of the cups over and over in his hands. He seemed to catch the gist of her thoughts and offered a wan smile. “Go on. There is not much remaining to be done and most of it will happen in its own time. I— I need some time to think. Much has happened and there are many changes to be made.”

Vivi crouched and took the cup from his hands. “Take it a day at a time. You were violated, and trust us, that isn’t something you can just get over. It takes work and time. And right now we have a breather. Hawkmoth doesn’t know where you are, and that gives you some time to sort it out in your own mind.”

Fu studied her for a moment, his expression clearing a little. “You—”

“Understand,” she finished for him. “We all do. It was a lesson learned the hard way. For you as well. It doesn’t make you weak to need time to process it.”

Fu’s expression smoothed and he nodded.

“And even then you’re never going to be completely ‘over’ it.” There was a strange tone in Arthur’s voice, cheeriness hiding something brittle. “You get better, you make sure you’re strong enough or take enough precautions it won’t happen again— but…it never goes completely away.”

Fu looked up at Arthur and seemed to read something in his face. “You— you  _know!_  But they told me you had fought him off.”

Arthur stilled, lines forming around tightly-pressed lips. Marinette was worried by the look in his eyes.

Lewis sighed and took Arthur’s right hand. Arthur started a little, eyes ringed with white. Lewis pulled him into a tight hug.

Arthur shivered a little, leaning into him.

“It wasn’t Hawkmoth,” Vivi said, her tone strangely flat as she stepped over to them and smoothed a hand down Arthur’s back. “He did fight him off, because it happened before.”

“The consequences were a little more— fatal— than most of his Akuma.” Arthur’s voice was muffled against Lewis’s shirt.

Fu looked down at his own hands. “I— I do not remember much, but the feel— I may never forget that for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t,” Arthur mumbled. “It wouldn’t help. Remember how helpless you were and vow never to let yourself be that weak again.

Fu sighed and painfully rose to his feet, reaching up to rest a hand on Arthur’s arm. “I thought… for a moment, I believed I was the only one who felt this helpless rage at themselves, but I am a fool. There are so many who have done things against their nature, driven by his will overlying theirs. I think perhaps… I had underestimated the damage he has done to the people of this city.”

Marinette bit her lip. There was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had seen Arthur right after the attempt of the Akuma to take him, and some of what she had seen now made a chilling new sense.

She had thought of him as strong, seeing him battle Hawkmoth’s influence with everything he had, but he was stronger than she ever imagined— now that the scars were clear to see.

Her fingers sought Adrien’s of their own accord and found his reaching for hers at the same time. There was the same kind of sick realization in his eyes. He squeezed her hand tightly.

Vivi had a pensive expression as she stroked Arthur’s hair, but she said nothing. Marinette could tell she was aching for Arthur and wished there was something she could do to wipe the hurt away.

It was only when Arthur pulled away from Lewis and took a deep breath that Vivi relaxed. She put on a smile that wasn’t too brittle around the edges. “So, ice cream…?”

Arthur’s laugh was a little wobbly. “You are  _impossible.”_

She leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. “Yes, and you love me for it.”

“I do.” Arthur breathed. He patted the arm Lewis had wrapped around him. “Both of you.”

Lewis bent his head and buried his nose in Arthur’s hair. “Love you too, tough guy.”

Arthur’s laugh was a little more real this time. “Let’s go feed Vivi that ice cream before she gets hungry and cranky enough to rival an Akuma.”

“Hey!”

~~~~

They left Fu with a promise to be back tomorrow. Marinette was reluctant to leave him, but he shooed her out gently.

Arthur, Vivi and Lewis walked ahead of them. Arthur was in the middle, one hand tucked in Lewis’s larger one and Vivi with her arm tucked into his elbow on the other side. It was clear they were still feeling protective of him. His half-smile said he knew, but at the same time didn’t mind overmuch.

They were halfway down the block when she realized she and Adrien were still holding hands. He glanced at her, eyes sparkling in a wicked, very-Chat smile and lifted their entwined hands to kiss the back of hers. “Ladylove.”

She blushed red. It was still strange to see her kitty in Adrien, but then he did something so Chat-like and she kept wondering how she had never seen it.  “Brat,” she accused quietly.

“Your brat.” He smiled back and squeezed her fingers.

Her phone chirped and she grabbed for it with a guilty ‘eep.’ It was Alya. She stared at it for a long moment before sending the call to voicemail. She blinked at Adrien. “I— we still need to figure out what we’re going to tell her— and everyone— about today— about everything.”

His lips pressed into a small frown. “Yeah. Um, I can walk you home after this and we can figure something out, okay?” He squeezed her hand again.

Marinette nodded, guilty. She hated lying to her parents, but what else could she do?

“We’ll figure something out, Milady. But until then, can we just enjoy this?” He swung their hands back and forth.

In spite of the niggling guilt, there was nothing she wanted more. “Yes.”

Adrien perked up, his head lifting. “I think I hear him!”

Marinette tilted her head to listen. Faintly she heard the jingle of bells, but couldn’t be sure until she heard André’s voice lifted in his customary refrain.

Adrien nearly pulled her off her feet when he broke into a run. Giggling, Marinette stumbled to keep pace. “Hurry,” Adrien chided, laughing, as they darted past the three adults. “He never stays in one place for long!”

Vivi huffed a laugh and took off in their wake, pulling Arthur, and through him, Lewis, after her. “Oh, no you don’t!”

Giggling so hard she could barely breathe, Marinette called back over her shoulder, “Loser buys for everyone!”

Vivi’s inarticulate shriek was music to her ears and she put on more speed.

Breathlessly laughing, they all darted through the crowds toward the music of André’s singing. Marinette knew that they were being quite silly, but the release of the tension that had held them since the attack this morning made her giddy and she had a feeling it was the same for all of them.

“I see him!” Adrien laughed, increasing his speed. Marinette clung to his hand, trying to match his speed. She knew he was fast as Chat, but she was still surprised at how fast they were running.

Vivi was barely a pace behind them when they screeched to a breathless halt next to the ice cream sellers cart. Adrien pumped his free hand in the air with a joyous whoop.

André broke off mid-verse to grin at them. “Sweet Marinette! You have come to see André again!” His gaze moved down to her hand clasped in Adrien’s and a delighted smile spread across his broad face. “And you have found the one my ice cream said was for you!”

Marinette ducked her head, red pooling in her cheeks. “Yes.”

“I will make a new dessert for the two of you! It will keep you together forever!” André exclaimed gleefully, already with his scoop in hand.

Adrien smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “I’m sure it will,” he breathed.

Marinette flushed and leaned her forehead against his. “Yes.”

André broke into a new song as he scooped and mixed flavors with gleeful abandon. He presented them with the ice cream with great ceremony. “Strawberry cream swirl sprinkled with chocolate curls and mint fudge ripple! To keep your newfound love true!”

“Thank you, André.” Adrien took the ice cream and smiled at Marinette. Still blushing, she matched his grin.

“And who are these three? I have not seen you here before!” André’s attention was drawn to where Arthur, Lewis and Vivi stood.

Still smiling, Adrien introduced them. “André, these are Vivi, Lewis and Arthur Pepper-Kingsman. They’re here on their honeymoon. We thought they should try the best ice cream in Paris!”

André blinked. “All three— together? Yes! This shall be André’s greatest masterpiece yet! Come, let me build you a dessert that shall be the talk of ages.” His face split in a wide grin.

Marinette leaned her shoulder against Adrien’s and took a tiny scoop of the mint for Tikki. André was in the throes of creative rapture and it was a sight to behold.

“For the sunlight and joy he brings, tangerine and pineapple swirl,” André declared, wielding his scoop like a magician. “Blueberry with passionfruit for the heart and mind that drive you onward.” A second layer was added atop the first. “Black currant with dark chocolate ripple for love born anew from the dark. And a candied pepper for the spice of life!”

Vivi held up a hand, chuckling.  "Yeah, we’ll let Lewis have that bite all by himself.“

"What, no nuts?” Arthur joked, eyeing the pepper with suspicion.

“We don’t need nuts,” Vivi jabbed him with an elbow. “You have all of them… and bolts too!”


	5. Setting Stories

It was well after five in the afternoon when they split up, the trio to head back to the hotel, and Marinette and Adrien to her place in the hopes of coming up with a decent cover story, for all concerned.

Marinette checked her phone while she walked, unsurprised to see several missed calls from her mother and Alya. She winced. “Mama is going to ground me for life if we don’t come up with something soon.” She turned her phone so Adrien could see the notifications.

“Nice background,” was all he said.

Marinette eeped. She’d forgotten her lockscreen had a picture of Adrien. “I-I—”

Chuckling, he tapped her nose with a fingertip. “I get it… finally. I—” he pulled out his own phone and unlocked it, grimacing at three missed calls from Nathalie. He pulled up his gallery and showed her the folder full of nothing but photos of her as Ladybug. “This was all I could do when I didn’t know who milady was.”

Marinette flushed bright red. She swore she was going to pass out one of these times if he kept making her blush like this. “We were both a little oblivious, huh?”

“Only a lot,” groused a grumpy voice from inside Adrien's’ shirt.

“Plagg, be nice,” Tikki scolded from Marinette’s purse. “The magic kept them from realizing.”

“Not their identities,” Plagg retorted. “Just that there was always someone _right frigging next_  to them that was important.”

Adrien ducked his head a little sheepishly. He might have started apologizing for his blindness if Marinette’s phone hadn’t started ringing right at that moment.

Marinette bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. “It’s Mama. I should take it but I still don’t know what to tell her!”

Adrien tipped his head to one side before a smile inched over his lips. “I have an idea. Go ahead and answer it. Play along.”

Reluctantly, Marinette slid her finger over the answer icon. He was her partner and she trusted him, but… “Mama?”

“Marinette?” Sabine’s voice was strident with worry. “Where have you been? I heard on the news about an akuma attacking the museum, and then Alya called saying she hadn’t heard from you since the attack and you weren’t on the bus back to school—!”

“Mama—”

Adrien broke in, pitching his voice loud and breathless. “Marinette! Did you find your phone? Great! Nathalie has got to be going out of her mind since I missed fencing!”

“I—” Marinette swallowed and forced her voice to steady. “I did. It was ringing when I found it. It’s Mama.”

“Oh, good, that’s even better! Hi, Mme. Cheng!”

“Marinette, who’s that with you and what happened?” Sabine’s tone had calmed down a little.

“It’s Adrien, you remember him from my class? He’s with me. We got caught in the Akuma attack.” She hoped Adrien had a plausible excuse for them.

“Oh, heavens, were you hurt?”

“No, Mama, we’re just fine, we just—”

“Hid in a janitor’s closet from the Akuma!” Adrien put in, his voice pitched to carry. Marinette obligingly turned on the speakerphone. “But the door locked automatically and we couldn’t get out until the janitor let us out. My phone was dead so we couldn’t call anyone for help. We missed the bus back to school!”

Marinette could almost see her mother’s raised eyebrow. “And your phone, Marinette—?”

Adrien pointed past her, at the school.

Oh! “I accidentally left it in my locker at school when I was rushing to grab my sketchbook,” Marinette rushed to explain. “We just got back to the school so I could find it. We’re heading home now.”

“Could I ask a huge favor, please, Mme. Cheng? Could you call Nathalie for me and let her know I’ll be at the bakery so she can send the car for me? You have her number, right, from those times she had you provide food for photo sessions?”

“Oh, yes, I do. I can call her for you. She must be worried too!”

Adrien rolled his eyes, but agreed with her. “She must be. We should be there in about fifteen minutes. Thank you so much!”

“I’m just glad you two are safe. I’ll see you when you get here. Oh, and Marinette, you should call Alya. She was worried about you too.”

“I will, Mama. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Marinette ended the call and sighed heavily, leaning into Adrien. “I hate lying to her, but no one else can know yet. It’s not safe.”

Adrien rested his arm around her shoulders. “I know, ladylove, I know. I’d hate lying to my father too, if he were anything like your parents.” He huffed his bangs out of his eyes. “But I’ve been doing it so long, just for a chance to breathe, that it’s… almost habit.”

Marinette winced. Adrien’s father was an overly controlling person. Even Chloe thought so, and that was saying something considering Chloe rarely thought about anyone but herself first. “He— he really doesn’t like you outside of the mansion, does he?”

Adrien shook his head. “I don’t remember it being that bad when I was younger, when— when Mom was still alive. But since then, he— he’s trying to protect me.”

Marinette sighed and slid her fingers into the hand resting lightly on her shoulder. “But he’s stifling you. I— remember how happy you were to come to school? Maybe he thinks he’s protecting you, but sometimes he’s smothering you.”

Adrien’s sigh was thin, a bare breath of air. “Believe me, that I know. Why do you think I run the rooftops like a stray a lot of the time? Plagg gives me a chance to escape… me. Or the me he thinks I have to be.”

Marinette felt a sick twinge in her stomach. She remembered Chat’s refusal to give up his freedom, and now, knowing who was under the mask, it made so much sense it hurt physically. “Just to breathe…” she repeated softly.

Adrien squeezed her shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. At least this way, I have some measure of freedom, and a chance to be with you, whether facing Akuma or another day at school.”

Marinette bit her lip. “You’ll always have me, kitty. But—”

“But?” There was an undertone of fear in that and it hurt to hear it. Marinette tightened her fingers on his in reassurance.

“Your father… well, he wouldn’t like it if he knew, would he?” She asked softly. After only a couple of encounters, she could hear Gabriel’s icy tone in her mind and she mimicked it as best she could.  _“ ‘She will be a distraction you cannot afford, Adrien. She will cause your grades to slip and you know what will happen if that happens.’ ”_

Adrien heaved a sigh. “The same thing he threatens every time I’m not fitting into his perfect little mold. He’ll pull me out of school and there goes another freedom.”

Marinette’s voice went firm. “I’m not giving you up, believe me.” She slid her arm around his waist and pulled him closer to her side. “I just got you, and I don’t give up easily.”

He chuckled a little, but his expression was pained. “I— I don’t want to lose this though.”

Marinette winced. “Me either. But— I hate to say it, but I can’t tell Alya. She’s my best friend, but—” she blushed and ducked her head. “She’s been trying to help me— um, get together with you— I guess would be the way to put it, since I first told her I ha-had a crush on you. She wouldn’t be able to keep it to herself if she knew. I trust her, but—”

Adrien’s cheeks had pinkened a little too, but he smiled down at her. “She’s a little too close to the story. Too invested,”

Relieved that he had understood, she sighed and brushed her cheek against his shoulder. “She’d tell Nino, at the very least, and well, I’ve known Nino since we were kids and he can’t lie for beans. If someone were to ask him, he’d break. Maybe not right away, but—”

Adrien only nodded. “What do we tell her though? I mean, can you go back to acting like you did before… y’know, the stuttering and—”

Marinette shook her head. “I’m a horrible actress.” She smiled up at him. “And now that I see my kitty in you, I’ll never be able to unsee it, silly puns and all.”

“My puns are paws-itively terrific.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

“So we— what?”

“Tell her the same thing we told my mother. That we got locked in together. We talked, because we had no other choice. You— you told me there was someone else you were in love with. Not even a lie, really.” Her smile was a little rueful, but only a little. “I’ll tell her I’m okay if we’re just friends and hopefully that will keep her from asking too many questions, especially because she’ll think I’m heartbroken and won’t want to hurt me more. You’ll probably have to deal with her being a little sore at you for a while, though.”

Adrien winced. He’d had an experience or two with Alya’s temper. _“Joy._  But—” His cheeks turned a darker shade of red and he opened and closed his mouth a few times.

“Spit it out.” Marinette teased. “You look like you have a hairball.”

He shot her a glare. “I-I’m greedy, I guess. I want to be able to spend time with you, just not pretending all the time. Like— like we were today.”

Marinette’s heart softened at the forlorn look on his face. “Silly kitty. What’s stopping you from coming to my balcony, like so many nights before? You always know where to find me. Even if we have to play a role during the day, we can be us there.”

All of the tension went out of him, and after a glance around to make sure they were alone, he tugged her close and kissed her fiercely on the lips.

Marinette melted into the kiss, her heart swelling.

“My lady,” he breathed against her lips. “My ladylove.”

~~~~

Somehow she knew he’d show up tonight, even after today. Nathalie had been waiting by the time they had gotten to the bakery and had whisked Adrien away with barely a word. She had expressed that his father was concerned, when he had heard of the akuma attack on the museum where their class trip had been, though, as the car door was closing behind Adrien.

She was sitting on the railing of her balcony when he alighted next to her with barely a thump. “Princess.”

“Kitty,” she greeted easily. It was amazing how much smoother the words came to her, even knowing who it was under the mask. “What brings you out on the rooftops tonight?”

His laugh was breathy and then his fingers were threaded in her hair, tipping her face up. “You said I could always come to your balcony.”

She covered his hand with her own. “I suppose I did. Do you want to come inside for a bit? My parents are already asleep.”

He hopped down off the rail and offered her a hand to swing her legs back over and onto the balcony. “I’d like that, ladylove.”

Marinette blushed a little at the easy way the endearment rolled off his tongue. “You can transform back if you like. I’ll bring up something from the kitchen. I have some cheese danishes for Plagg too.”

He chuckled and let go of her hand to open the trapdoor for her. “You know the way to his heart; through his stomach.”

“So Papa always says.” Marinette giggled, dropping down onto her loft. “Stay here and I’ll be right back with snacks, okay?”

“Okay.” His voice, soft as a whisper, followed her down the stairs.

She trotted back up the stairs with a tray of treats from the bakery and two mugs of tea to find Adrien sitting nervously on the edge of her chaise lounge. Cupped in his hands was Plagg, already exchanging greetings with Tikki. Marinette smiled and set the tray down, pulling out two of her never used thimbles and tipping a bit of tea into both for the kwami’s. Half a sugar cube went into Tikki’s and she glanced inquiringly at Plagg. “Tea?”

He accepted the thimble and waved off any sugar, more than half a cheese danish stuffed in his mouth. “You picked a good one, Sugar Cube.”

Marinette eeped and struggled to not drop the sugar bowl, red climbing her cheeks again.

Adrien chuckled low in his throat and something in her belly turned over at the sound.

Marinette looked up at him, fighting a blush. It was still so strange to her that the boy she liked was her dear partner. It took some wrapping her head around, to be honest.

“So, why Adrien?” He asked suddenly, distracting her from Plagg’s knowing smirk.

“What do you mean?” Marinette set her tea down, trying to still the trembling of her fingers.

“How did the boy you barely spoke to in class steal your heart away from the superhero you fought beside daily?” He asked, green eyes earnest.

Marinette bit her lip. “You’ll probably laugh.”

He gave her a heart-melting grin. “Promise I won’t.”

“When you gave me your umbrella.”

Now it was his turn to look surprised. “My umbrella?”

“It was right after our first battle. And I know I looked confident, but the whole time I was secretly terrified. That I wouldn’t be good enough. That I would do something wrong. That I’d make a mistake, like letting the akuma escape, and cause even more trouble. And then you just…gave me your umbrella when I forgot mine. You had no reason to be nice to me when I was giving you the cold shoulder, but that act of kindness…I needed it right then. A lot. You gave me the strength to keep going.” She looked down.

“Then giving you my umbrella was the best choice I ever made.” Adrien reached out and cupped her cheek. “Both for Paris and for me… and now us.”

Marinette managed a breathy giggle. “Sappy kitty.”

“Only for you.” he corrected and pulled her into a hug.

Marinette went willingly, snugging her arms around his waist. She felt his lips press against the crown of her head.

“When this is all over, and Hawkmoth is no longer a threat— I don’t care what Father thinks, I’m taking you out like you deserve. No more hiding.” he tightened his arms.

“I— I think I’d like that,  _Hēi māo.”_

“You just called me…”

“Black cat in Mandarin. I started studying it with Mama when Uncle Cheng left, I wanted to be able to at least greet him properly next time he’s in Paris.”

Adrien chuckled and then to her surprise, began to purr softly. “I like it, even if it is a little obvious if you know Chinese.”

“No worries, it’s just for us.” She tucked her head against his shoulder, letting the vibration of his purr wash over her like a soothing tide.

.~~~~

Arthur gritted his teeth to keep a thin whine of pain from escaping, and dug in his suitcase for his prescriptions. Ever since the attack, his shoulder had been aching, but he’d gotten adept at ignoring it. With the removal of his arm tonight, it had gone on to a full fledged throb. Fingers that were no longer there tingled and his whole missing arm seemed to be nothing but a source of mind-numbing pain. He finally got the baggie out  and fished one of the bottles out of it. Bracing the bottle between his knees, he opened it. He dry-swallowed two on the spot. He debated one of the muscle relaxers but decided against it. It would leave him groggy in the morning and both Vivi and Lewis would know what had happened. They’d demand to know why he hadn’t woken them.

A little shaky, he put the bottle away and got a cup of water to wash away the bitter taste the pills had left on his tongue. It wasn’t that he wanted to keep it from them, it was just that they had both been so worn out by the Akuma fight and everything else. Lewis had retreated to his locket to rest the moment they had gotten in the door of the room, and Vivi had barely made it from the shower to the bed before she was passed out, sprawled on top of the duvet. They needed rest, and certainly didn’t need to short themselves sleep just because his missing limb decided now would be a good time to give him hell.

Sighing, he went out to the balcony, where his restless pacing couldn’t disturb Vivi. Better he be the only one short of sleep. The wind had picked up and he shivered. It only made the empty spot at his left side hurt more. Sighing, he went back in for the jacket he’d been wearing today. He slung it over his shoulders, tucking the empty sleeve into the opposite pocket to keep it close around him.

He leaned against the railing and stared out at the lights of the city. Unlike Tempo, where the whole town was quiet by ten at night, Paris did not sleep. It was beautiful here, and peaceful… sans the Akuma attacks.

Something dark crossed between him and the lights of a building and Arthur tensed, until he realized the lanky shape was a familiar one. He lifted his hand in greeting. Chat changed direction between one leap and the next, alighting on the balcony railing with a quiet thump.

Arthur quirked an eyebrow. “What are you doing out and about, kid? It’s late.”

Chat dropped down to sit on the rail. “Patrol. It’s my night. We do alternating nights, except on weekends, so we can both get a little sleep.” He laughed a little. “Also, I’m way too wired to even try to sleep.”

Shaking his head, Arthur laughed. “High on love?”

“Something like that.” Chat’s eyes were sparkling and his cheeks flushed pink. “I— I’ve been hoping since we met that my lady would… would—” his voice trailed off and he could only gesticulate helplessly.

A wry smile curled up the corner of Arthur’s mouth. “See how much you loved her?”

“Yes!”

Arthur chuckled softly. “I know the feeling.” He glanced back to make sure he hadn’t woken Vivi. Wincing at another dull throb, Arthur rubbed his shoulder above the anchoring port. It was chilly out here and the metal transferred the cold all too easily.

Chat frowned. “Does it hurt because of the fight today?”

“Kinda,” Arthur admitted. “It’s called phantom limb. The body remembers that it’s supposed to be there, and sends confused pain signals from the nerves that aren’t there anymore. A doctor could explain it better, but you get the basic idea.” He shrugged his good shoulder. “It still flares up sometimes. And frankly, getting thrown into a display case didn’t help matters.” His fingers were cold and he shoved them in his pocket to warm them. Something cold and metal shifted against his palm. Huh, had he stuck a part or tool in there without thinking about it?

He pulled it out. It was a simple circular brooch, like a badge, brown with two jagged black streaks bordering a white stripe. “What? Where did this come from?”

Light flared, and Arthur yelped, instinctively flinching away. Something small, brown, and hyper darted right in front of his face. Arthur stumbled backward, his lower back slamming into the railing. Chat caught his arm to keep him from pitching backwards.

Arthur clutched Chat’s arm, breathing hard. There was a high-pitched squeaking in his ears and it took a long time to realize that it was words. “Hi-hi-hi! Wow, it’s been  _forever_  since I was out! Are you my new bearer? You’re a lot taller than the last one… and with less limbs!”

Light flared around Chat and a black dart shot away from him to pounce on the hyper brown thing still circling Arthur at the speed of light. Arthur shared a baffled look with a suddenly de-transformed Adrien. “What  _the—?”_

“Plagg—” Adrien’s voice was a little breathless with shock.

Plagg was sitting on the furiously squeaking brown thing, which at least kept it still long enough for Arthur to realize that it was a kwami too, albeit a different animal-type than Plagg and Tikki. Plagg harrumphed. “What? It’s not like he doesn’t know.” The black Kwami smacked the back of the brown one’s head. “Oi, you! Can you stop for all of four seconds, idiot? You’re freaking out your new bearer.“

“Bearer—?” Arthur and Adrien asked in eerie synchronization.

Arthur carefully backed away. “I hope you’re not talking about me. I don’t need a hyper squeaky toy or whatever he is. Can’t you take him?”

“I ain’t sharing housespace with  _him.”_  Plagg snorted disdainfully. “I don’t share.”

 _“Anything,”_ Adrien agreed. “But who…”

Plagg ignored the struggles of his new seating arrangement. “This is Zippi. Jeeze. Last I heard— didn’t your miraculous disappear during the fall of the Roman empire? Why can’t it have stayed vanished?”

“Zikikii,” The new kwami stuck out his tongue at Plagg. “And don’t try to pin that on me. We all heard about Atlantis.”

 _“Zippi,_  here—” Plagg gritted, “Is the kwami of innovation, like Tikki is creation and I’m destruction. Last time he had a bearer was during the heyday of the Roman Empire.”

“Arcturius.” Zippi chirped. “He was so clever.”

“And then the empire fell and his miraculous was lost in the fighting. Even the guardians couldn’t find it.” Plagg explained, looking disgustedly down on the kwami he was sitting on. “You coulda  _stayed_ lost, honestly.”

“My bearer hid my miraculous before— well,  _before.”_  Zippi grabbed hold of Plagg’s swishing tail and yanked hard. The cat kwami screeched and darted away from the other. “And don’t you go blaming me for that. It really wasn’t my fault.”

“Right,” Plagg drawled sarcastically, holding his abused tail and glaring. “I believe that.”.

“Like I believe Atlantis wasn’t your fault?” Zippi lifted up and hovered near Arthur’s face.

Arthur regarded the kwami warily, edging toward the doors leading to the room. This close, he looked a little like a chipmunk, brown with white limned in black around oversized eyes that were never still, darting around like he was watching for danger. His back bore the same marking, in duplicate, as the brooch in Arthur’s too-tightly clenched fist, twin streaks of white, bordered by jagged streaks of black.

“It wasn’t!” Plagg protested. “Mostly.” At Zippi’s disbelieving look, he shook himself. “Okay, look— so maybe I went a little overboard with Atlantis but I didn’t end an empire.“

“Um, isn’t that exactly what you did with Atlantis?” Zippi inquired archly.

Plagg darted over to perch in Adrien’s hair, glaring venomously at the other kwami. “It was an island!” he retorted. "Not an empire spanning continents!”

"An island Empire!” Zippi retorted smugly, folding his tiny arms across his chest. “Same difference.”

“I had way too much cheese— that might have been a little fermented. It wasn’t really my fault.”

“I know several kwami that say otherwise.”

“I am not debating semantics with you, you hyper little rat!”

“Ooh, big words from you. Do you even know what they mean?”

Plagg screeched and launched himself at Zippi, who darted behind Arthur for the half-open door of the room.

“Hey!” Arthur whirled, stuffing the brooch back in his pocket to reach after the little renegade. “Get back here! You’ll wake up Vivi!”.

“Plagg!” Adrien yelped, leaping after his kwami.

It was too late, Zippi was leading an infuriated Plagg on a merry chase around the room, careening from wall to wall like a demented rubber ball and laughing merrily. “Too slow!”

Vivi sat up abruptly, one hand darting out to snag Zippi out of the air. Her other hand came up in time to seize Plagg before he could pounce on the trapped kwami. Her eyes were barely open, but she still managed to fix both kwami with a glare. “Sleepy time is quiet time,” she grumbled.

“He started—”

“Stupid litt—”

She brought both kwami closer to her face. “Quiet time,” she repeated.

Both of them quieted at once, wide eyes fixed on her face.

Adrien blinked. “Can she teach me how to do that?” he asked Arthur, voice filled with awe.

Arthur offered a half-smile. “I dunno. I’ve never asked.”

VIvi opened one eye a little further to peer at her husband and the boy next to him. “Explain. My brain isn’t awake yet, so small words, please.”

Arthur huffed a breath of laughter. “Got me. I don’t know what’s happening either.”

Adrien shook his head. “I— I’m not sure either. Plagg, you said he’s a kwami too?”

Plagg tore his eyes away from Vivi’s face to glare at the kwami in her other hand. “Yes, though if you ask me his miraculous could have stayed lost!”

Vivi’s attention snapped back to Plagg, who quailed suddenly, shrinking down into her grasp. “You, talk.”

“You can’t make me.” Plagg did not sound very certain of that.

“I said, talk.” Her voice was so mild it was scary.

Squeaking softly, Plagg surrendered. “His name is Zippi—”

“Zikikii!” protested the other.

 _“Zippi._ His miraculous has been lost since the fall of the Roman empire, where it coulda stayed if you ask me— and probably anyone else who knows him. But no, it had to go and be found and the moron decided he—” He waved a tiny paw at Arthur. “Is now his new bearer. He’s more stubborn than Tikki so you’ll never talk him out of it, either. He won’t change his mind.”

“At least I have a mind to not change,” Zippi retorted.

Vivi’s sleepy gaze snapped to Zippi, who went quiet at once. “That true?”

“Mostly, if you take into account Plagg’s a know-it-all with cheese for brains,”

“Also true,” Adrien snorted, ignoring the betrayed look of his kwami.

“I need caffeine to deal with this,” Vivi groaned. “Lots of it. Arthur—”

“I can get it,” Adrien interrupted, “And it will shut Plagg up for a while— before he really gets started complaining.”

“Hey!”

Vivi considered for a second. “Deal.” She released Plagg. “I’ll get what I can out of our new friend while you do. But I’ll want to get some of the story out of him—” her blue-painted nail rose to point at the black kwami, now hovering near Adrien. “When you get back.”

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien called with no little relief. As soon as he was transformed, he fled over the railing into the night.

“I didn’t even get a chance to tell him what I wanted.” Vivi grumbled, propping herself against the headboard.

“You scared him, Vi.” Arthur settled in a chair some distance from the bed, his wary eyes on the brown kwami caught in her hand. “I don’t think he’s ever been a recipient of a patented Vivi glare.”

The look she shot him was not quite said glare considering the soft curve of her lips. “That’s enough outta you.” Her attention turned back toward the kwami caged in her fingers. “Okay, now that Plagg isn’t here to bait you, a straight answer would be nice.”

“Most of what he said was— fairly true—” The little kwami winced. “The last time I had a bearer was well— kinda the end of an era. It was in Rome and my bearer was an inventor and a good one; he was a special rank in the legions. But there were tribes outside of the Empire that started invading and the legions began to suffer defeat after defeat. The Legatus of my bearer’s legion had sent troops out to scout an opposing force, and he was with them because there were rumors that the Goths had invented a new kind of weapon, and he was under orders to capture it and bring it back to duplicate and improve. It was a trap. He was part of a group of centurions that got cut off. He— umm— he took a wound. He knew— knew he couldn’t escape, not even with me lending him strength, so he hid my miraculous. He told me he planned on taking as many of them with him as he could— before— before he took my miraculous off, so I don’t know what happened after that, but I can guess.

"I was too weak to contact the other kwami and— well—” A tiny paw lifted to touch his chest. “I hurt, and all I wanted was to rest. To sleep and forget the pain. I don’t remember when my miraculous was found but it was in the museum for a very long time. And then you—” Bright blue eyes darted to Arthur. “Touched my miraculous and I woke up.”

Vivi’s expression softened, familiar sadness welling in her gaze. Almost unconsciously, she began stroking Zippi’s head with a gentle fingertip. “Okay, I get that. But what makes you so certain that you want Arthur as your bearer? You just woke up. Who’s to say there isn’t someone out there better suited to you?” She smiled fondly at Arthur. “Not that I’m putting you down, love—”

Arthur returned the smile, picking up his arm from the table and settling it in his lap. “I know.” He opened a panel and began a careful check over of the internal mechanisms. The familiar actions grounded him and let him focus.

Zippi, however, had lost all interest in Vivi’s questions, his bright eyes fastened on the arm Arthur was tinkering with. “Ohhh—” He slipped easily out of Vivi’s loosened hold and darted over.

Arthur had to control an instinctive flinch when tiny paws patted the metal casing softly. “You made this— I can feel all of you that you put into it. You were meant to be my bearer.” He beamed up at Arthur. “If Plagg is active that means Tikki is too. She exudes luck. Maybe it was her luck that led you to my miraculous!”

“If being thrown into a display case counts as luck,” Arthur mumbled, watching how delicately those tiny paws traced over the lines of his arm, like it was something precious.

Zippi hummed softly, a pleased sound. He looked up with a wide smile. “If it led us together, of course it was luck!”

“If anything involving that hyper pain can be called luck,” groused Plagg’s voice from near the hotel room door that he was struggling to unlock. “Can I get a hand here before I cataclysm this stupid door?”

“No cataclysms!” Adrien’s voice came muffled through the door.

Arthur rose from his seat, carefully setting his arm aside, and opened the door.

Adrien was holding a takeout tray with four cups and a paper bag. He shrugged sheepishly. “I came up the elevator. I didn’t want to spill.”

“Coffee!” Vivi cheered. “Gimme, gimme!”

“I didn’t know what you wanted except not decaf so I got a café au lait and an espresso, as well as two regular. I also asked for more milk and some sugar since I see people drinking it that way in some American movies.” Adrien handed the tray to Arthur and scratched the back of his neck.

Arthur chuckled. “I’ll take the espresso. Poor Vivi will have to make do with milk. You forgot we’re in France, love.” He directed the last at Vivi as he set the tray on the nightstand.

She puffed her cheeks out in a pout. “I miss my flavored creamer already.”

Arien was looking around curiously. “Umm— where’s Lewis? I brought enough for him too.”

Arthur stifled a snort of laughter. “Dead to the world.”

“Artie, that was awful!” Vivi laughed and pulled the neck of her sleep shirt out to show the golden locket resting against her breastbone. “Lew doesn’t  _‘sleep,’_  but when he wears himself out, he rests inside here to recover. It works best if one of us is wearing it at the time.”

He looked a little dumbfounded, but bucked up and nodded.

Arthur returned to his chair. Zippi had not abandoned his prosthetic arm, still running tiny paws over it. If he was a cat, he’d be purring. Arthur eyed him sideways but left the arm and it’s fascinated attendant alone.

Vivi finished stirring milk and sugar into her coffee and glanced at where Plagg hovered near Adrien. “Alright, I got Zippi’s input, let’s hear yours.”

“I don’t got—” Plagg started indignantly.

“Plagg—” Vivi said, too sweetly.

Plagg swallowed audibly. “Wha— what is it you want to know?”

“Let’s start with Fu not knowing about Zippi. He’s the self-styled Guardian of the Miraculous. Wouldn’t he have known if there were other Miraculous out there?”

Plagg hemmed and hawed for a moment before answering. “Well, see… Fu was a member of the Guardian order, but he didn’t complete all his training before… Well, before the temple was destroyed and the rest of the Guardians— died. So he may not have known about the Lost Miraculous.”

“I can practically hear the capital letters. Is Zippi’s the only one or are there more?”

Plagg lowered his head and grumbled. “More. Some were…  _misplaced_ … before there was a Guardian Order, while some have been lost more recently. Like the Peacock and the Butterfly. Though it’s obvious enough the Butterfly is here in Paris, since Hawkmoth’s the one controlling it.”

“ — That’s interesting.” Vivi hummed speculatively. “Did he know about them being lost?”

Plagg nodded. “The Peacock and the Butterfly vanished shortly before the temple fell. Most of the Kwami were not active at the time, so we can’t tell you what happened.”

Tapping a finger against her chin, Vivi hummed. “I think we should talk to Fu about this.”

“Now?” Adrien asked. “It’s the middle of the night. I have school in the morning and I’m pretty sure he’s asleep by now.”

Vivi shook her head, watching Arthur lean away from the Kwami that hovered near his shoulder. “Tomorrow is good enough. If you would, Adrien, have Marinette call him in the morning and let him know we’re coming.”

“Can it wait until class lets out? I’m pretty sure we should both be there for this, too.”

Vivi pursed her lips. “Yeah, I can understand that.” She ran a finger gently over the locket at her throat. “Fine. We’ll all go after school.”

Arthur was still peering sideways at Zippi. His lips were pressed together. “While they’re in class, Vi, I want to head back to the museum. Maybe we can find out something to take back to Fu.”

Vivi snapped her gaze to Arthur. “Artie?”

Arthur gave her an uncomfortable shrug. “He’s been asleep a long time. Maybe there’s a clue about what happened. Where his miraculous was. Something…” His words broke off into a painful sounding yawn. “Dam—  _darn_  it!” He amended hastily.

Peering up at him knowingly, Vivi pointed out, “Your pupils are dilated. Your shoulder was bugging you, huh? You take both your meds or just the painkiller?”

Arthur glanced away. “Just the painkiller. I hate how groggy the muscle relaxers make me.”

“I’m telling Lewis on you. You know you are supposed to take both of them or the pain comes right back because your shoulders are tense because of the port. The doctor explained it to all three of us after the last time you did a stupid.”

Arthur flinched a little, nearly bumping into Zippi, who was hovering a little too close for comfort. “Vi, c'mon—”

“Nope.” Vivi set her coffee aside and rose from the bed. “You are taking the rest of  your meds and going to bed before you fall over.” She pointed a stern finger in his face.

Arthur gave her a reluctant nod before glancing over at Adrien. “See, if I knew how she did it, I wouldn’t get caught in it.” Another jaw-cracking yawn took him by surprise.

Vivi poked him in the side. “Enough of that. You march and get your meds. Adrien, you should sleep too. There’s a chaise you can nap on.” She pointed.

Adrien shook his head. “I have to be home before Nathalie comes to wake me up for school. Thanks though. I’ll text Marinette to call Master Fu and go to bed. Promise.”

“Good.” Vivi pursed her lips. “I know you have the superhero thing going, but you’re still young. You need your sleep.”

He blushed a little under her scrutiny and nodded. “I’ll go right to bed after I text her, promise.”

Vivi reached out and ruffled his hair gently. “Good boy.”

Arthur, rummaging in his bag for his medicine, couldn’t help but notice the way Adrien almost instinctively leaned into her touch. Poor kid.

With one last fleeting smile, Adrien transformed and vanished into the night.

Arthur suffered through Vivi chivying him into taking his other dose and into the king-sized bed. She snuggled into his left side, fingers rubbing a soothing pattern over the scarred flesh of his shoulder. Zippi perched on the headboard, quiet and surprisingly still.

It didn’t take long for the medicine and Vivi’s gentle ministrations to put him down for the count. Vivi tucked herself more comfortably against him, cheek resting on his chest and letting the sound of his heartbeat lull her. Sleepily, she watched Zippi cautiously edge down until he was tucked in the crook of Arthur’s neck. He hummed contentedly and settled in, asleep almost instantly.

Vivi carried the thought that Arthur wasn’t getting rid of the little kwami easily— if at all— into slumber with her.

~~~~~

Surprisingly, Marinette was awake before her alarm went off. It was a rare occurrence these days. She smiled to see several notifications from Adrien on her phone, at least until she read the texts he’d sent her last night and found herself gaping at the screen.

Blinking, she rushed to wake Tikki, still curled up in the pillows. “Tikki! Tikki, wake up!”

Startled, Tikki shot up. “Akuma?”

Marinette only held her phone up so Tikki could read the messages on the screen. “Oh! Oh my—!” The little red and black Kwami spun in the air with a delighted squeal of laughter. She rushed over to give Marinette the best kind of hug she could manage, snuggling against her cheek. “One of the lost ones has been found! I’m so happy! We haven’t heard from Zikikii in so very long!”

Marinette held Tikki close to her cheek, pleased to see her so happy. “Adrien called him Zippi. Who is he, though?”

“Plagg gave him that nickname when they first met. Said he couldn’t keep track of him zipping all over the place like that. It stuck and there’s not that many of us that actually remember his real one anymore. He complains about it, but answers to it anyway.” Tikki pulled away to dance happily in the air. “He’s the Kwami of innovation. He’s been missing for a very long time. I don’t think Master Fu even knew about the ones we call the Lost Miraculous, well— except the two that were lost right before the temple fell.” She whirled around, still gleeful. “We should tell him. Maybe he’ll feel better.”

“I’m going to call him, but it will have to wait to go see him until after—”

“Marinette, honey, did you hear your alarm?” Sabine’s voice called up. “You don’t want to be late for school today, not after yesterday.”

“Yes, Mama,” Marinette sighed. “I’m awake.” She got up from the bed and stumbled down the steps. “I’ll call Master Fu as soon as I’m dressed.” she assured Tikki.

“I can’t wait to see Zippi again!” Tikki cheered. “He’s the only one who can drive Plagg insane. Well,  _more_ insane.”

Marinette giggled. “Tikki!”

She rushed through getting ready, same as always. It was habit by now. Humming, she settled down on her chaise to make sure she had her schoolwork before picking up her phone to dial Master Fu. He answered on the second ring. Marinette winced to hear his voice sound so very tired.

“Master Fu. Something unusual happened last night!” she blurted.

“Marinette? What is it?”

“So Chat was out on patrol last night and stopped by the hotel. He was talking to Arthur, when there was a flash of light and well, apparently there was a Lost Miraculous in the museum.”

“Wait. Please start at the beginning.”

“I wasn’t there, so I don’t know all the details. But we’re all of us coming over after school, and you can get everything then.”

Fu sighed heavily. “I— I will await you this afternoon, then.”

Marinette disconnected the call. “That wasn’t a very thorough explanation,” Tikki said reprovingly.

“I don’t have enough details and I’d rather not tell him something I don’t know.” Marinette opened her purse for Tikki. “Better if he gets the whole story from the ones who were there. But I’m going to have to give Adrien his phone number for the next time something like this comes up.”

“More Lost Miraculous showing up?” Tikki asked with a giggle as she dived into the purse.

“Oh, wow no, that would be a little much. Just in case there is something he needs to tell Master Fu.” Marinette closed the catch and trotted down the stairs to greet her mother with a kiss on the cheek, and grab a croissant as she sailed out the door.

For once, she got to school before Alya, Nino or Adrien. She ate her croissant sitting on the stairs, contemplating what she was going to tell Alya, who was liable to be full of questions after the short text she had sent her last night, giving her the barest basics of the story she and Adrien had worked out.

Alya wasn’t likely to buy that she had just given up entirely on Adrien, having been witness to just how deep her crush ran, so she had to come up with something good.

She was still thinking over her options when she saw Alya headed up the street, her hand tucked in Nino’s. Alya understood being in love, after all.

It was then that she got a wicked, terrible idea. Her lips curved up into a smile. Adrien would hate it, but the irony of it was irresistible.

Marinette hastily wiped the smile off her face when Ayla looked up and saw her. Alya hurried her pace, waving with her free hand as she tugged Nino along after her. “Girl, you’re early! Is the world ending?”

“Maybe only a little.” She resisted the urge to smile as she stood up, brushing crumbs off her pants.

“Uh-oh, so what happened?” Ayla leaned close.

“It’s nothing much, Alya,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Just a lot of things happened yesterday.” Not even a lie.

Alya was about to grill her more when a familiar black car pulled up to the curb. Adrien hopped out and waved at them. Marinette was surprised he didn’t look more tired, but his grin was as sunny as ever.

Alya and Nino returned his wave easily, and Marinette gave a short wriggle of her fingers before tucking her hand back down behind her leg. As she had meant for her to, Alya noticed immediately.

“Hey, guys!” Adrien greeted, joining them on the stairs. His gaze was searching and she offered him a small smile.

“Hello Adrien,” she returned the greeting quietly.

Ayla’s hazel eyes fastened on her, one brow climbing up.

Marinette looked away, winking at her kitty with the eye Alya couldn’t see with her face partially turned away. His eyebrows climbed up, but he adapted. “Hey, Nino— did you finish the physics worksheet? What did you get for the the fourth problem?”

Marinette kept quiet through most of the ensuing conversation, only answering if a question was directed at her. She knew her lack of stuttering and fumbling for words around Adrien were being carefully catalogued by Alya.

Finally it was clear Alya had just had enough and was going to go batty if she didn’t get some answers. She grabbed Marinette’s arm and smiled sweetly at the boys. “See you in class! Marinette and I need to go powder our noses first.” She hauled Marinette off before Nino could do more than blink numbly.

Alya pulled her into the restroom and after carefully making sure they were unobserved, turned on Marinette.

"So?” Alya asked eagerly.

“So what?” Marinette asked, though she had a feeling she knew exactly what.

“So you end up trapped with Adrien for hours hiding from Grand Master!” She waved her phone around to illustrate her point. “And suddenly I notice you’re a lot less nervous about talking to him. You managed complete sentences, girl, for you that’s a record! Spill it, girl!”

“It’s not what you think.” Marinette protested half-heartedly.

“Isn’t it?” Alya pressed, grinning. “C’mon, Marinette, this is me. I want deets!”

“It really isn’t. Adrien and I are friends. Hopefully— good friends, but that’s it.” She lowered her head and looked away, hoping Alya was buying it, “There’s someone else he likes. He told me so. Not Chloe!” She reassured quickly when Alya opened her mouth. “And I’m not telling you who, that’s private.”

“I’m so sorry, Marinette.” Alya moved to pull her into a consoling hug.

But Marinette held up her hand and shook her head. “It’s bittersweet, but I’m glad he’s able to— to see me as a friend. Besides.” Marinette twiddled her fingers, looking down and hoping that the flush from lying could be mistaken for a nervous blush. “I…may have found someone else.”

“Like that? Just like that?” Alya asked in clear disbelief. “Girl, are you kidding me?”

“It’s still a— a maybe. Neither of us want to rush into things.” She puffed her cheeks, and looked down at her hands to hide her eyes. “I ran into him after the thing with Adrien. He— he’d also tried to ask his crush out and— and got rejected.” She manufactured a wobbly smile by thinking about how they had hurt each other, not knowing the truth. “Well, we kinda bonded over that and found out we sort of just clicked. I don’t know if we’re more than friends, but it was really nice, being able to talk to him.” That was the honest truth of the matter.

“That seems like an awfully big coincidence. You sure this guy isn’t a creeper?” Alya clearly wanted to be happy for her friend, but needed to make sure she was safe first. It warmed Marinette to know.

“I promise his reputation is impeccable.” She couldn’t resist an impish sort of smile. “In fact you’ve even met him, and I promise you’d approve of him.”

“So do I get to meet him again?” Alya wanted to trust Marinette, but wouldn’t rest easy until she’d met this guy in person. Marinette could see her mentally fretting.

“I think he wants to keep it on the downlow, but I’ll ask him, okay?” Marinette promised.

“Can you at least give me a hint?”

“Okay, a hint— let me see.” Marinette assumed a thinking pose. “He has blond hair and green eyes, like Adrien, but he prefers black clothing. That’s all you get.”

Alya began scrolling through her phone, trying to find someone who matched that description. Marinette hid a grin behind her hand. Operation Marichat was a go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we created a original Kwami (and a mythos of why there might be Kwami Fu doesn't know about). Meet Zikikii (Otherwise known as Zippi) the chipmunk Kwami of innovation.
> 
> *crawls back under rock and hides*


	6. Lost, Found and Other Descriptors

Arthur was indeed a little groggy when his alarm went off in the morning, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the broken sleep, the meds, or a combo of both. Vivi was still asleep against his side as he reached out to shut off his phone, but someone was awake and watching him with bright blue eyes. He started badly before he remembered. “Zippi.” he said flatly.

The Kwami stretched out and leapt off the headboard and into the air. “Morning, morning! Are you hungry? I’m starving! I haven’t eaten since the fall of Rome!” He seemed pleased by his own joke, rolling in the air with laughter.

Arthur carefully sat up, trying not to wake Vivi. “Hilarious. What do Kwami eat anyway? You look like I should find you a nice tree full of nuts.”

Zippi made a disgusted face, tongue sticking out. “Ew.”

Arthur sighed and looked down at his sleeping wife. “I should probably order some breakfast anyway before sleeping beauty here wakes up.”

“Ooh, breakfast! Wheat pancakes? Dates and Honey? Garum?  _Please tell me there’s garum!“_

“I have no idea if they have any of that on the room service menu. Also I have no idea what the hell garum is.” Taking a deep breath, Arthur began the task of linking his prosthetic to the port in his shoulder.

Zippi watched with wide eyes, but continued his plaint. “How can you not know what garum is? It’s yummy! We used it on everything.”

“Easily. I have never even heard of it, thanks. Now quiet down before you wake Vivi up.” Arthur hissed as the first of the connectors clicked into place.

“Too late.” A bleary blue eye regarded him from where her face was smashed into the pillows. “Please tell me you haven’t been up long.”

Arthur turned enough to offer her a half-smile. “Only a few minutes, Vi, promise.”

She squinted at him before rolling over to sprawl on her back. “You set an alarm, didn’t you? You coulda slept in. This is our honeymoon. We don’t have to adult until we get back to Tempo.” she tapped a finger on the locket. “Hey, Lew, wake up and convince our husband he doesn’t have to be a workaholic on vacation!”

Purple haze leaked out of the locket and Lewis materialized beside the bed. “What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”

Zippi darted forward to look in Lewis’s spectral eyes.  _“Fantomă!”_

“Talking mouse!” Lewis backed up fast.

Vivi rolled her eyes. “Lewis, honey, you have  _been_ a weirder thing than a Kwami. Lew, meet Zippi. He wants to buddy with Artie. Zippi, this is Lewis, our husband. Yes, he’s a ghost, but most of the time we don’t hold that against him.”

"I said I was sorry for making the van a mini dekotora.” Lewis retorted.

“Not forgiven.” Arthur and Vivi replied in the same breath.

Zippi peered at Lewis, head cocked to one side. “You don’t feel like most of the unquiet dead.”

Lewis paused, confusion causing his human facade to flicker. “How?”

“Most of them are… lost.” Zippi darted forward and tapped the side of Lewis’s head. “Inside. You aren’t. You are very… anchored. Very part of the here and now. I like you!”

“Um… thanks?”

Zippi turned in midair and darted back to Arthur, who flinched away from the sudden movement. “More importantly, he likes you.”

“Ah—?” Lewis’s bafflement was plain.

“If he’s going to be my bearer, he needs a strong foundation. You are part of that. So is she. His feelings for you make him strong.” Zippi circled the three of them. “Not everyone is as stable as the three of you make each other.”

“What if I’m not your bearer?” Arthur questioned with a grimace as he locked the arm into place.

“You are.” Zippi’s reply was assured.

“You only just met me last night.”

“Doesn’t matter. I know you are meant to be my bearer.” Zippi tried to land on Arthur’s right shoulder and looked a little confused and hurt when Arthur shied away.

“I still think you got the wrong guy.”

Vivi sighed heavily. “Arthur…”

Arthur didn’t look at her. “What? Vi, he’s known me for all of what, an hour, awake? How does he— or any of you— know there’s not a better choice out there for him?”

Lewis might not have known everything that happened last night but he recognized this mood. He came around the bed and unceremoniously toppled Arthur back into the pile of blankets and pillows. Vivi immediately rolled over and latched onto him with all four limbs. Lewis settled down behind him and tucked Arthur into the curve of his body before he could struggle. “Snuggle attack!” Vivi declared.

Arthur carefully put his real hand under her chin and shoved her back. “Vi, knock it off!”

“Nope!” She ducked away from his hand with a cheery grin. “You know better than to go down this road. It’s not allowed. Not ever again.”

Lewis sighed into his hair. “Arthur…”

Arthur’s shoulders tightened.

“You’re doing it again. It’s not now and never was your fault.”

Vivi repeated the mantra softly, a breath after Lewis. She caught Arthur’s chin and made him meet her eyes. “Look at Zippi. He only just met you and he can already tell you’re a good person. Good enough to be his bearer.”

Arthur’s sigh was thin, a whisper of defeat. But he relaxed into their hold. “I love you two, you know that, right?” His voice was soft.

Vivi leaned in for a kiss. “Of course we do. It’s why you said yes when we asked you to marry us.”

Lewis said nothing, only pressing a loving kiss against Arthur’s temple. They remained that way for a while, simply soaking in each other’s presences. Allowing them all time to ground themselves in the touch and smell and sight of those they loved… more than life itself.

Zippi hovered close, obviously wanting to join them, but hesitant. The rejection still stung.

After a time, Vivi rose. She paused briefly to stroke Zippi’s head. “Give him time,” she whispered before turning to her husbands and declaring, “Well, I’m all kinds of starved. Lets get some breakfast and head back to the museum!”

Lewis looked up. “But—”

Vivi cocked her head toward Zippi. “We need to research something we picked up there, Lew,”

“Ah.” Lewis rose and tugged Arthur to his feet. “Well, unless you want more pastries, I think breakfast will have to come from the room service menu. Breakfast isn’t a big deal over here. Mostly it’s coffee and toast or a pastry.”

Vivi laid her hand across her forehead. “Blasphemy! How am I expected to function without my breakfast? I’ll wither away!”

“Yeah!” Zippi enthused. “I still want some garum!”

“What the hell is garum anyway?” Arthur grumbled.

“It— it’s a fermented fish sauce,” Lewis said, obviously choosing his words with care. “It was a major thing in Roman times.”

Arthur perked up a little. “Huh. Wonder how it would taste on Surf’s Up Surprise?”

“Arthur— no.”

“You just have no taste, Vi.”

~~~~

After breakfast, they took a bus back to the museum. Zippi hid in Vivi’s handbag, distracted by a handful of goldfish crackers, though he had complained that they had no actual fish in them.

“I don’t know what you’re hoping to find.” Lewis murmured as they worked their way back through the building to the same area the battle had been in. “I mean, he did say his miraculous had been hidden for a long time, right?”

Arthur shrugged. “Something, Lew. I don’t know. At this point anything is more than what we know now.”

Vivi was chewing on her lower lip, a sign she was deep in thought. Lewis reached over and tugged a lock of her hair, making a soft questioning noise.

She glanced up at him. Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. “Okay, so near as I figure, the miraculous must have been in the case that Artie got smashed into, and must have fallen into his jacket. I don’t know why Ladybug’s miraculous cure didn’t put it back, though.”

“I know this one!” Zippi’s voice came from her bag. “Her cure only works on a miraculous that’s damaged. Mine wasn’t. And it was already where it belonged, with my new bearer.”

A muscle jumped in Arthur’s jaw, but he said nothing. His hand briefly went down to touch the pocket he had stowed the miraculous in. It could stay there for now. He still had his reservations about accepting Zippi’s claim that he was meant to hold it.

Vivi pointed past a group of museum patrons. “That’s the case.” Her voice was still very low. “And that brings up my second point. Have they noticed it’s missing?”

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Lewis offered. “I mean, wouldn’t they have blocked off the area or something if they had?”

Vivi scanned the people around them silently. Nothing seemed any different from when they had been here yesterday, groups quietly talking as they looked at the displays, but no sign anything out of the ordinary had happened here.

They moved toward the case, Arthur pretending interest in the brochure he had picked up at the entrance, and Vivi leaning around Lewis to point at something on the page. At the case, Lewis bent to read the placard, his voice soft and conversational. “Examples of pottery and jewelry found in a buried shrine of the goddess Hekate, the roman goddess of magic and crossroads, at what was one time the juncture of two major trade routes. The shrine was discovered, relatively intact and untouched, in 1975 by a group of graduate students, after having been buried in a pyroclastic mudflow sometime in 280 AD. These items are believed to have been left as offerings to the goddess for safe travels.”

Zippi made a soft sound. “He thought it would be safe there. That the Goddess would protect it.”

Vivi, patted her bag. “In a way, he was right. The shrine would have been robbed in later centuries if it hadn’t been buried.”

“Oh…”

Arthur peered more closely at the other items in the display.  There was a small gap that looked like it might have been where the miraculous had been, but it was barely noticeable. Had the magic made it so the missing piece would go unnoticed?

Vivi had obviously noticed it too, but said nothing. Best if it remained unnoticed by the museum staff. “Let’s go see the Egyptian display next.” She made sure to pitch her voice at conversational levels, just in case.

She tucked her hand in the crook of Lewis’s elbow and Lewis rested his other hand in the small of Arthur’s back, steering them through the crowd toward the Egyptian Hall. When they got there, though a majority of the display was open to the public, there was a small area roped off where several workmen were placing things under the direction of a young man in a tweedy coat. They were not the only ones to stop and peer at the set-up in curiosity. A small group had gathered near the roped-off section. “ — heard the mayor donated the new pieces from his personal collection. Kubdel is happy as a clam, being that most of the donated pieces are from his favorite era.” A woman in a bright turquoise pants-suit explained, gesturing expansively at the group of workers.

“Kubdel? Didn’t he get Akumatized over that? I’m surprised the museum let him anywhere near the new pieces.” Her companion looked a little aghast.

“Oh, don’t worry. As long as he’s happy, nothing like that will happen again. Ladybug said in an interview that Hawkmoth is only drawn to strong negative emotions, so as long as he’s kept happy, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Not sure my concern over you getting hurt would really be considered a negative emotion, but he certainly thought it was good enough.” Arthur said softly to Lewis, leaning into his side a little. “Ugh, I can still feel his nasty voice in my head.”

Vivi peered around Lewis with a loving grin. “But you kicked him out of your head.”

“I tried, at least.” Arthur managed a wry smile for her. “It helped that we had some help that night though.”

Lewis chuckled. “Pretty sure you gave Hawkmoth a ringing headache with the fight you put up, even before we got that Akuma out of you.”

“He deserves more than that.” Arthur muttered, clenching his fist. “Way more.”

“And he’ll get it, Arthur.” Vivi captured his hand and held it, caging Lewis between their outstretched arms. “We’re going to make sure of it.”

“Right.” Arthur sighed.

“Good. Now, unless there’s something else we want to see here, I still want to get some pictures to send back to the Pepper’s and Lance. Then maybe lunch? Lewis, you said you found a cafe that looked good?”

~~~~

They had arranged to meet the kids in the park where they had met up the first time. Arthur had sprawled under the shade of one of the trees and was dozing, still a little foggy from lack of sleep and medications. Zippi had abandoned Vivi’s purse to tuck himself in the collar of Arthur’s jacket. Lewis sat on a bench near where Arthur drowsed, Vivi in his lap, holding a book that they were both reading from.

Marinette was the first to arrive, her backpack slung over one shoulder as she trotted up. “Adrien will be here soon. He had fencing practice first.”

She didn’t get to say more because with a happy squeal, Tikki launched herself from Marinette’s purse. “Zikikii!!”

The noise woke Arthur, who jerked upright, looking around wildly.

Zippi left Arthur’s jacket to meet her halfway and the two Kwami tumbled over and over in the air, laughing happily and babbling at each other in something that wasn’t English or French.

“Oh, Tikki—!” Marinette covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

Vivi snorted and held open her shopping bag. “You two are lucky that we’re alone here, but to be on the safe side, why don’t you get out of sight?”

Tikki made a small sound and dived into the bag, followed quickly by Zippi.

Marinette laughed and dug out a small box of cookies from her purse, handing it down to the kwami in the large paper bag. “Here, some treats to share.”

“What is with nothing having fish anymore?” Zippi complained.

~~~~

It was a good twenty minutes more before Adrien came trotting up, slightly out of breath. “Sorry. Practice ran long.” He looked curiously at the bag on the grass, rustling slightly. His gaze turned to Marinette. “Oh, by the way, what on earth did you tell Alya? She’s been either giving me a death glare or typing furiously on her phone. I think she’s plotting my death. Possibly with Nino.”

Marinette flushed slightly. “Oh— um, I may have had to tell her our cover story.”

“I get the feeling that’s not all you told her. I think I’m bleeding from all the pointed glares I was getting.” Adrien looked mournful.

Tikki peeked her head out of the bag and giggled. "She may be looking for your supposed replacement.”

Adrien went wide-eyed. “Replacement? What?”

Marinette blushed and frantically shooshed Tikki. But she wasn’t proof against Adrien’s woebegone kitten look. “Well, I-I knew Alya wouldn’t buy into me n-not like-liking you anymore when she’s been there since day one. So I—” She buried her face in her hands and rushed all the words out at once.  _“IkindatoldherthatImetsomeoneelse!”_

“What?!”

“I had to give her something more! She doesn’t give up easily, you know!” Marinette hunched her shoulders up around her ears.

“Wait? Who? I mean—” Adrien flailed helplessly for a moment. “Who—?” He blinked for a moment and bit his bottom lip. “Is it someone I know?”

“It is you, you  _idiot!_ ” Marinette exploded and then covered her mouth. “I— I’m sorry. I— it’s not anyone else. I just—” Her cheeks flamed red and she ducked her head. “I pretended that I met someone else, someone who— who kept getting rejected by someone he loved. Sound familiar, kitty?”

Adrien looked perplexed. Plagg groaned from his pocket. “Seriously, cheese is easier. No asking if it likes you back. She’s talking about you, kid.”

“I— I hinted at her that I liked Chat Noir, just to give her something else to focus on.” Marinette covered her face with both hands.

“Wait, so you told Alya you’re not with me… and then told her you’re with Chat Noir.”

“God, were we ever that young?” Lewis muttered into Vivi’s hair with a laugh.

“No,” Vivi chuckled back. “But we were that stupid in love.”

Arthur, who had joined them on the bench, covered his eyes with his hand. “Even dumber. I was there to see it all.”

“You shush,” Vivi leaned over to kiss him. “You were just as dumb, just all stoic about it.”

Adrien grinned brightly. It was the same wide grin he gave her as Chat when he loved one of her plans. “That’s brilliant, Ladylove!” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“It is?” Marinette was taken aback. She was expecting him to be upset.

“Not only is Alya distracted from being mad at me, it means I get to be all affectionate with you if I’m in costume and you’re not. I  _really_ like that.” He leaned close, his eyes sparkling with mischief and his grin entirely that of his feline counterpart.

Marinette eeped softly, rose dusting her cheeks, but couldn’t seem to look away.

Zippi stuck his head up, popping the moment like a soap bubble. “Are we done here? Can we go now? It’s been so long since I’ve seen Pollen and Fluff and Sass and—”

"We get it, Zippi, thanks,” Plagg groaned from Adrien’s pocket.

“It’s not too far from here,” Tikki assured. “Come on, you two, you can cuddle while we tell Master Fu what happened.” She giggled before ducking back out of sight, pulling Zippi down with her. Vivi rose and picked up the bag and it’s magical occupants.

Marinette and Adrien both turned red, but didn’t say another word. They walked next to each other the whole way, their arms reaching to almost grab the other’s hand before dropping back to their side.

“At least Mystery’s not here to tease us about history repeating itself,” Lewis muttered.

Arthur chuckled, hands firmly entwined with both of theirs.

When they reached the correct arrondissement, Marinette rapped softly on the heavy wooden door.

There was the sound of a bolt sliding back and then Fu opened the door, eyes wary. He relaxed a little when he saw them and stepped aside to let the group in. He looked less defeated than yesterday, but he still moved like he had aged a hundred years in the span of a day.

He re-locked the door behind them and motioned to the table, laden with a teapot and mismatched cups. “Wayzz has told me something about the Lost Miraculous since your call this morning. I was unaware that there were more than I personally knew of.” He seated himself carefully on a cushion. “So, please, tell me what occurred.”

“Talk later! I want to see everyone!” Zippi burst out of the bag and whirled around Arthur’s head. “It’s been so long!”

Wayzz floated up beside Fu. “A little respect, plea—”

He was bowled out of the air by a brown bullet of excited Kwami. “Wayzz, you old hardshell! It’s been  _waayyyyy_ too long!”

Wayzz’s eyes widened and he righted himself, reaching out to grip Zippi’s arms. “Zippi?!”

“Hi-hi-hi!” Zippi crowed gleefully before Tikki darted over to join in the excitement. “I missed everyone!”

“Why didn’t you try to contact us sooner? The guardians would have found you and brought you home!”

“The lazy rat was sleeping,” Plagg grumped.

“Master?” Wayzz looked hopefully at Fu, still clinging tightly to Zippi.

Fu sighed. “You may go.”

With twin squeals of excitement, Tikki and Wayzz darted toward the miraculous box, pulling a gleeful Zippi along. “Plagg?“ Tikki called back.

“Eh, you guys go ahead. I’ll keep watch out here in case something bad happens while you’re in there. Tell the others I said hi, though.” Plagg settled on the table. "Hey, Master Fu, you got any cheese?”

Tikki darted over to plow into him in a hug. “You can grump all you want, but you’re sweet, Stinky.”

Plagg shoved at her, but gently. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Sugar Cube. Just go so we don’t have to hear all the noise anymore.”

Laughing, she booped his nose and darted back to the box, vanishing inside with Wayzz and Zippi.

“So, shall we start at the beginning…” Fu invited. “I think we need to get the whole story, all of us.”

“It’s gonna be a long story, then, because it goes back before there was even a guardian order—” Plagg began.

~~~~

Fu stared at the round brooch, gleaming softly in the light, the jewel a rich umber brown. Arthur had pulled it out of his pocket, and set it on the table, sliding it towards Fu as he finished. “Near as we can tell, it was in the case Grand Master threw me into and it must have fallen into my pocket. It looked different when I first pulled it out of my pocket, though. Had white and black stripes on it.” He continued with what they had read on the placard in the display.

“Disguise magic. The same way the kid’s ring is silver and pigtail’s earrings are black when they aren’t transformed.” Plagg explained, munching on a slice of cheddar. “When we’re inside the miraculous, whether it’s to transform our bearers or when we don’t have a bearer, it looks different.”

Fu’s eyes never left the gem, though he made no move to pick it up. He swallowed thickly. “It is rare that a Kwami strikes upon the correct bearer. Rarer still for it to have come in such a number of coincidences like this.”

Marinette bit her lip, leaning into Adrien, his arm resting around her shoulders. “We thought it might have been some of Tikki’s magic affecting the outcome. Her luck magic…”

Fu hummed thoughtfully. “Perhaps. That part of her magic is unquantifiable. Luck is a fickle thing.”

“And how do you think he chanced on the right bearer this time?” Arthur asked, his voice more than a little high-pitched. “I mean, didn’t you guys test for traits in the candidates?”

“The Order did. We had many tests designed to weed out those not meant to hold a miraculous. But they would do no good in this case. You— while I do not recall most of what occurred at the museum, I have had your descriptions and the footage from the Ladyblog. You have more than proven yourself worthy. Zikikii has made his choice and it is one I cannot deny him.” Fu said solemnly, using one finger to push the brooch back toward Arthur.

Arthur made no move to take it, actually leaning back a little, like it was a poisonous spider or something equally unsavory. “But how can you be sure he’s made the right choice?” His tone was almost desperate.

“While we chose candidates for the miraculous, it was rare, but always heeded when a Kwami made their own choice of bearer. It only happened once that I personally know of but there were records of it happening before. I read some of them during my training.” Fu answered, tipping his head to regard Arthur, His eyes showed confusion and something else undefinable. “You—”

“I’m pretty sure he just latched onto me because I was the first person who touched his miraculous.”

“No.” Fu shook his head. “I admit to being— a bit lost. There is much about this situation I don’t know, but this I know.”

“Wisdom is knowing how much you don’t know,” Vivi put in.

Fu looked up and chuckled softly, if a little weakly, “That sounds like something I might say.”

Vivi only smiled.

“When a Kwami has made their choice, there is no naysaying it.” Fu continued softly, “That was one inarguable rule passed down from the masters of the Order. At this point, Marinette, I could no more take Tikki away from you than break her miraculous with my bare hands. Or Plagg from you, Adrien. They have made their choices, as has Zikikii.”

“But—” Arthur protested. “I know you think I’m worthy, but I’m really not. I can’t wield that kind of power. You don’t even know me and you want to trust me with him?!”

“You— you do not want the power he offers?”

“No!” Arthur shook his head. “I— I shouldn’t be trusted with it.”

“Arthur!” Vivi’s tone was sharp enough to cut glass.

Arthur flinched, his shoulders coming up around his ears. "Vivi…”

Vivi moved from her cushion to slip her arm around Arthur’s waist. He shivered before leaning into her.

“I can’t, Vi. He des—”

Vivi put a fingertip over his lips. “I will be very cross with you if you finish that sentence.”

“So will I,” Lewis added. “You stopped needing to apologize for yourself two years ago. Don’t start again. You are strong enough and selfless enough to do this.”

Arthur sighed. “I don’t trust me.”

“We do, and Zippi does.” Vivi poked him. “Give us a little credit for good sense.”

“We do too,” Adrien put in. “You didn’t have to try and save Alya and I at the museum. You didn’t have to keep the Akuma distracted when you were wounded, but you did anyway. Isn’t that a good measure of yourself?”

"Out of the mouths of babes—” Lewis grinned at Adrien and poked his husband gently. “Listen to the kid.”

Arthur scowled, but stopped leaning away from the miraculous like it might bite him. “I really don’t think I’m cut out for this. I’m a lot of things; a superhero is not one of them, though.”

“You’re already a hero, why not add the super part to it?” Vivi chided.

“Viviiiii—”

“There are all kinds of different heroes,” Marinette’s look was thoughtful and she held tight to Adrien’s hand. “Mama always said that heroes came in all shapes and sizes. It might be something as small as feeding a stray mama cat so she can feed her babies or as big as saving Paris. A hero isn’t who you are, it’s what you do.”

Arthur looked at her strangely. “You don’t know me. You wouldn’t call m—”

A finger across his lips silenced him. “Nope.”

Vivi was smiling at him, her eyes soft. “You were always our hero. After all, Lewis is hopeless at keeping the van running.” She continued, her voice taking on a teasing lilt.

That seemed to break through to him and he huffed a breathy laugh. “So that’s why you married me, eh?”

“One of them,” she teased back. “Now stop fighting us on this, you’re outnumbered and outvoted.” She waved her hand at the room at large. “Six to one.”

Arthur made a show of looking around. “Your math skills suck, Vi.” He pointed at the black Kwami drowsing in the remains of  his cheese feast. “Plagg wasn’t voting.”

She reached out and pressed the miraculous that had been on the table into his hand. “I wasn’t talking about him, silly.”

Arthur sighed and looked down at the brooch. He didn’t say anything, but let her close his fingers around it.

Adrien glanced at his watch and frowned. “I hate to say it, but I have to leave. If I’m not back at the park for Gorilla to pick me up for the photoshoot, I’ll never hear the end of it from Father.” He poked his Kwami. “Wake up, glutton. You need to go get the others before we go.”

Plagg batted at the poking finger but roused and headed toward the miraculous box. “You owe me for this, kid.”

“Yeah, yeah. So says the one with his own mini-fridge of gourmet cheeses.”

It wasn’t long before the Kwami returned, with Tikki and Wayzz chattering at Plagg and Plagg sniping at Zippi. Tikki broke off and darted to Marinette for a cuddle. She was giggling. “Sass was so shocked! He thought Trixx was playing a trick on us with illusions!”

Wayzz settled on Fu’s shoulder and Plagg returned to his cheese plate for one last bit of brie.

Still hovering by Wayzz, Zippi looked at Arthur, uncertainty clear in his posture.

Arthur took a deep breath and slowly pinned the brooch to his vest, not far from his star pin. “I wouldn’t call me a hero, but we can start by being friends, right?”

Zippi broke and was at Arthur’s side in a heartbeat, tucking himself into the hollow between vest and neck. “Friends. Friends is good.”

Arthur sighed and reached up to scratch the kwami’s head with one fingertip. “Yeah. Friends is a good start.”

Vivi rose to her feet and offered Fu a bow. “We’ll leave you for now, but I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future.” She turned her attention to Adrien. “We’ll walk you back to the park. Marinette, know a good place to pick up a cell phone around here? I want a local number you guys can contact us through, if you need anything. My regular cell phone is really only good for calling home.”

“Oh— um, sure. I know where Alya got her replacement when I dropped her phone the one time. It’s not far from there.” Marinette reluctantly let go of Adrien’s hand. They couldn’t be together as more than friends in public, she reminded herself.

“Excellent.”

The walk back was too quick, but the softly whispered, “See you later tonight, Ladylove,” brought a new spring to her step. There was something to be said for her cover story after all!

~~~~

A little late the next morning, but not as bad as many times before, Marinette rushed into the sciences classroom. She paused in the door, a little surprised not to see Ms. Mendeleiev already in place at the front. It was lab day and she was always early for those. A babble of voices caught her attention and she turned to see most of the class was gathered around Juleka’s desk.

Juleka had her tablet out and the Ladyblog pulled up on it. Alya’s voice came very clearly from the screen. “—tacking the Akuma with a combination of fire and ice. Who are they?”

She was interrupted by what Marinette knew was Arthur’s voice. “Record later! Run now!”

“That was the scene at this morning’s Akuma attack.” Alya’s voice was now in reporter mode. “The Akuma was attacked by two new superheroes before Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived on the scene. Who are Fire and Ice? Are they new miraculous holders?”

Alya, seated on the corner of the desk, pulled a frown. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get much footage of this Akuma battle itself. You won’t hear me say this too often, but that was a real dangerous fight. If that guy hadn’t grabbed me, no telling how badly I would have gotten hurt!”

“I think you got enough!” Rose said, hand pressed over her mouth. “The skeleton guy is scary!”

“But think about it, if these are new miraculous holders, something big could be coming. I want to say I got the first footage of them!”

“Technically, babe, you did.” Nino tousled Alya’s curls. “You got some great shots. You just didn’t get the chance to interview them since they bugged out after the fight and vanished like ghosts.”

“I know!” Alya batted at his hand and grumped sourly at him. “How cool would it have been to have a major scoop like that? The first ever interview with Lady Ice and Skullfire!?”

Adrien looked a little like he’d bitten into a lemon, lips puckered in an effort not to laugh.

Fortunately, Nino did it for him. “Skullfire? Babe, you read too many comics!”

Alya rolled her eyes and elbowed him hard enough to make him wheeze. “We basically live in a comic book, Nino.”

Adrien lost the fight to keep a straight face and guffawed.

Alya looked like she was going to take a piece out of him until everyone else joined in the laughter.

“Nino, whatever you do, don’t let her name your kids!” Kim hooted.

Alya flushed almost the same color as Ladybug’s suit and Nino wasn’t far behind.

“Don’t make her too embarrassed, Adrikins, or she might get Akumatized again.“ Chloe added, without looking up from the nails Sabrina was carefully painting.

“So says the one who is statistically responsible for more Akumatizations than the rest of Paris combined,” Alya retorted, still red but willing to throw down.

“Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Those results are skewed and you know it, Césaire!” Chloe glowered at Alya.

“Actually, the statistics are correct, Chloe,” Max put in, never looking up from the calculator he was tapping away at. “Of fifty-seven known Akumatizations in the past year, thirty-eight of them were a direct result of some action of yours, and another six were indirectly related in some way to you.”

"That many?” Adrien whispered sharply. He knew his first friend wasn’t the greatest person but…that was a really large number for anyone short of Hawkmoth  _himself._

Chloe huffed and turned away. “I’m just too fabulous for most of you plebeians to appreciate properly.”

“Chloe— winning friends and influencing people wherever she goes,” Nino muttered in a low voice to Marinette.

Marinette stifled a giggle.

“Hey, has anyone seen Ms. Mendeleiev?” Adrien asked.”Class should have started ten minutes ago.”

“Shh, dude, you’ll jinx it!” Nino shushed him. “Juleka was watching the footage of the fight and talking about the kind of magic those two new superheroes were using, said it looked more like elemental magic than the magic we’ve seen Ladybug and Chat Noir using. Ms. Mendeleiev got irked with her and started on about magic not being a real, definable thing, even though she’s been affected by it before!” Nino snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “Principal Damocles told her to go chill for a few minutes till she calmed down, y’know?”

Alya rolled her eyes. “What, she thinks it’s super-science or something that lets Hawkmoth take over people? That’s not scepticism, it’s flat-out denial!”

“You know Ms. Mendeleiev. She doesn’t like anything that challenges her understanding of the world,” Adrien tried to soothe.

Alya glared at him, obviously still not having forgiven him.. “Doesn’t mean she has to be dumb about it, Sunshine.”

There was the sound of a scream— abruptly cut off midway— from the school courtyard. Everyone jerked to attention. A scream like that usually only meant one thing.

Alya was already out of her seat, headed for the window and digging in her bag for her phone.

“Oh no, another Akuma!” Rose exclaimed, clinging tightly to Juleka’s hand.

Marinette shared a resigned look with Adrien over Nino’s head. She rose to her feet, slapping a hand down on the desk with a loud crack to get everyone’s attention. “Akuma Evacuation plan, everyone. The classrooms are too exposed so find someplace sturdy to go to ground. Let’s move!” She waved people toward the classroom door.

Alya had her phone out and was filming through the window. “The Akuma looks like some sort of judge, maybe,” she reported. “They have a gold scale in one hand and what looks to be a whip in the other.”

Marinette hurried the last few students through the door and turned to Adrien, nodding. He slipped away silently. She knew he’d keep the Akuma busy until she could get there. “Alya, that goes for you too! Do you want to get hurt?”

“C’mon, Marinette! I’m not gonna go near the Akuma, but I gotta get some footage, especially if those new heroes show!”

“Alya. I love you but you are way too willing to risk your life for a scoop!” Marinette exclaimed in frustration. “I’m half-tempted to steal your phone so you don’t get close enough to get hurt!”

“I’d just get closer, in that case,” Alya smirked. “I’d have to see everything without the zoom on my phone!”

“Uuuurrrrghh!” Marinette huffed. “Fine, you stay here and stay out of sight, okay? We don’t know what this Akuma can do! I’m going to make sure everyone has gotten somewhere safe. If it even looks like the battle might come this way, you get to safety!”

Ayla offered a two-fingered salute, most of her attention on the Akuma outside. “Chat Noir has appeared on the scene first, No sign of Ladybug or the other unknown superheroes yet…”

Marinette hurried to find a hiding place to transform. Vivi had given her the number of her new cell phone so she shot off a quick text before ducking into the restroom.

A few moments later she was swinging into the courtyard. Chat was doing a good job of keeping the Akuma occupied, while also trying to herd those caught in the courtyard away.

The Akuma wore hooded, long robes, the dark red of drying blood. Under the hood the face was like a porcelain mask, stark white and serene except for the glittering black eyes. In one hand it held a golden scale and in the other, a black cat o'nine tails. The whip flicked out and touched a fleeing girl. She barely managed a gasp before she was transformed into a glowing ball of energy. The hand holding the scale lifted and the former student was sucked into it. One side of the golden scale tipped infinitesimally lower.

The still white face tilted to regard the scale. “Another Believer. Deluded.” Those glittering eyes fastened on Ladybug. “I am Judiciala. I have judged Paris as infested with those who believe in false magic and mysticism. I will cleanse the city of light of this corruption, with each believer I capture. Once this scale is full of captured believers, I will destroy all magic. Starting with yours, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I will add you to my pool of believers and deliver your miraculous to Hawkmoth.”

Chat snorted a laugh, posing with both hands resting on the top of his baton like a cane. “I am a-paw-led by your deliberate blindness. You do realize that our miraculous are magic, right? Hand them over to Hawkmoth and he’ll use the magic in them for his own ends.”

The glowing butterfly mask occluded Judiciala’s face for a moment. “Hawkmoth will cleanse them of their magic taint after his wish. The world will be free of the corruption of belief in magic when there is no more magic.”

Chat laughed again. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re just a cat’s paw for Hawkmoth. He’s duping you!”

The cat o’nine tails flicked out and Ladybug had to yank Chat out of the way. “Careful, kitty!”

He flashed her a quick smile and returned to taunting the Akuma. “It’s rather hypocritical of you to judge magic when it’s magic that empowers you, you know.”

Judiciala’s black gaze glittered with rage, and the whip flashed out again. But it wasn’t aimed at Chat this time, but at a student desperately trying to take cover beneath a bench. The whip’s strands coiled around the cowering boy and he glowed with the same light that had transformed the girl. But after a moment it changed, color shifting to a vibrant yellow. The whip dropped away and the boy stood transformed, a hooded figure like Judiciala standing there. His robes were black, and his serene mask was red. “Logic. You believe only in what you may quantify. You shall be the first of my Scourge, razing the Believers at my command.”

“Wow, super cult-like rhetoric there, Judgie-McJudgiepants,” a new voice called out over the panicked screams of the students who had not yet escaped the courtyard. “And making disciples and calling them your "Scourge”? Yeah, you reek more of cult than most  _actual_ cults we’ve gone up against.“

Chat and Ladybug looked up. Lewis hovered in midair, full skeletal mode, holding Vivi in his arms. It was her mocking voice that had captured Judiciala’s attention.

“Do not mock me, foul believer!” Judiciala’s voice scaled up in rage and the strands of the whip lashed around the hem of their robe like infuriated snakes.

“How can I not?” Vivi’s grin was cheerfully malicious. “It’s so easy! I’ve faced a lot of cults, crazy, and you are just like them. Ignoring reality and anything that doesn’t fit your rhetoric!”

While Judiciala’s attention was not on them, Ladybug sidled over to Chat Noir. “The Akuma has to be in either the whip or the scale.”

He nodded. “I’d take the whip out of play first. It’s the most dangerous.”

“My thoughts exactly, Kitty. Want to—”

She was interrupted by a shrieked “Banzai!” and could only look on in appalled horror as Lewis let go of Vivi in mid-air. She plummeted down, her bat clenched in both hands and a gleeful look on her face.

Chat reacted faster than she could, his baton propelling him toward the falling woman.

But someone else was faster still. Arthur darted in while Judiciala’s attention was on Vivi and Chat. He brought down a fire extinguisher on the back of the robed figure’s head with a resounding  _‘klooonng.’_ Judiciala crumpled like wet tissue.

Lewis snatched Vivi out of the air right before Chat could reach her, her gleeful whoop echoing around the courtyard.

Lewis set her on the grass and she flung herself at Arthur. “Brilliantly timed, Artie!”

Arthur held her up, chuckling. “Not too shabby yourself, either of you.”

Chat landed by the unconscious Akuma victim and scooped up the whip. His claws made short work of it, but no corrupted butterfly darted away. He picked up the scale and smashed it against the stone lip of the fountain. Gold light emerged and resolved into several stunned, frightened students. A black butterfly fluttered away from the smashed pieces.

Chat had to clear his throat loudly before Ladybug reacted, flinging her yo-yo out to capture the butterfly. Her voice was faint as she breathed her usual farewell before releasing it to flutter away. Her gaze was fixed on the trio even as she released the swarm of ladybugs that would right everything.

The robes melted away, revealing Ms. Mendeleiev, who stirred weakly. Chat helped her sit up. For the first time since he had started at school, her disagreeable frown was gone, replaced by frightened confusion. Her fingers dug into his arrn hard enough to be felt even through the tough material of the suit. “You’re fine now,” he soothed. “We took care of the Akuma.”

"I— I— don’t…”

He gratefully surrendered her to the care of Ms. Bustier and Principal Damocles, who had come rushing out is the building as soon as the fight was over and hurried to Ladybug’s side, touching her arm. “Milady?”

She blinked back into focus. “That was—” her voice trailed off.

“The shortest Akuma battle ever!”

Ladybug and Chat both jumped, Chat coming down in a defensive crouch, his baton ending up barely an inch from Alya’s gleeful grin.

“Alya!” Ladybug exclaimed, a hand pressed over her chest. “What are you doing here? It isn’t safe so close to an Akuma battle!”

“This is my school and—” she pointed in the direction of the wobbly teacher being escorted back into the building. “That is my teacher. But you know I try to make every battle I can, Ladybug. I wouldn’t be the Ladyblogger, otherwise! But enough about me. Will you introduce me to your new friends? Are they Miraculous holder’s too? Paris wants to know!” She panned her phone’s camera over the three before directing it back to Ladybug.

Chat made a small sound and leaned in, resting a claw on the top of her phone and pushing it down. “Ah-uh. It’s rude to film them when they haven’t consented to anything, much less an interview.”

“It’s quite alright, Chat,” Vivi raised a flippant hand. “We’re here to help, after all.”

“I…would rather you not show their faces. But an audio interview is fine.” Lewis, at least, was aware that broadcasting the undisguised faces of his loves could lead the enemy to them all too quickly. If need be he’d have a deadbeat fritz her phone out, but polite measures first. “But all Paris needs to know if we’re here to help stop Hawkmoth and give Ladybug and Chat Noir the support they deserve to have.”

“Awesome!” Alya cheered. “Like, I can blur their faces in the footage I already got of this battle during editing. So, mark and… Hello, Paris! This is your Ladyblogger, with an exclusive interview with the new heroes that helped take down an Akuma in record time. First, can we get some names to call you by? I’ve been told my stopgap names were— less than stellar.”

Vivi shrugged. “No real names, sorry.  You can call me… Frost.” She flipped her hand at Arthur. “The Fixer.”

He gave her a flat, unamused look. “Way to sound like a mob movie.”

“You prefer Mr. Fixit?” She smiled and gestured to Lewis. “And this is our Inferno.”

Even with the limited ability of a skeletal face to show emotion, Lewis’s hollow stare conveyed a distinct lack of amusement. “Really?”

“…And we’ll get back to that later.” Alya quickly said. “Next question, we’ve seen some pretty amazing things from you. Things both like and unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir’s talents. Are you Miraculous holders too?”

“Yes, my miraculous grants me the power of common sense and fire extinguishers.” Arthur said dryly, pointing at the discarded fire extinguisher he’d used to brain Judiciala.

“Does is matter?” Vivi added, more than a little cheekily. “We’re here to help. And we’re going to keep helping till Hawkmoth is in a six by eight where he belongs.”

“So you’ve joined the fight against Hawkmoth, then. Does this mean you have some new information on the villain orchestrating this?” Alya’s hazel eyes were glittering with enthusiasm as she leaned in. “I won’t ask for specific details, since Hawkmoth could foil them by knowing, but do you have anything you can share safely?”

After a glance at Vivi, Lewis leaned in, allowing the spectral distortion he normally sought to keep under strict control to creep into his voice, imbuing it with a distorted echo and distinctly creepy feel. “Just this. _W͜e ̡k͜no̧w͟ wh̨at̴ ̡you’ve ͝do͠ne͝ and ̵who̧ you͢'v͜e̷ enda̧nge͟r͜e̢d, Hąw҉kmo͏t͞h. ͡W͜e͡ wi͡l͢l̛ b̸e̴ ͟co̴m̕i͝ng ̶for yo͏u,͜ ̸a̛n̸d w͝e ̡won̸ ‘̸t śt̴óp.̕ ”_

Even Alya shivered, taking an automatic step back.

Ladybug’s earrings chose that moment to beep and she touched her ear in surprise. “We should go. All of us. Be safe, Paris.” She pulled her yoyo out and spun it. “Bug out.”

Lewis scooped up Vivi in one arm and offered his other hand to Arthur. Arthur accepted and was tucked against Lewis’s side as the ghost lifted from the ground in a deliberate burst of showy purple flames.

“So Paris,” came Alya’s voice behind them. “That’s an exclusive with our newest heroes. I think the names are still a work in progress, though. Got any suggestions for them? Send them to the LadyBlog. Ladyblogger out!”

~~~~

Vivi was still delighted by the time they made it back to the hotel after the pause of finding a place to land unseen and for Lewis to resume his human guise. Vivi unlocked the door, tossing her purse aside and kicking off her shoes. “That was great, admit it, Arthur! The way Lewis put Hawkbutt on notice; the way you—” Her hands described the arc of the fire extinguisher, punctuating it with a descending whistle and her best imitation of the sound it had made striking the Akuma.

Arthur rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “Lets not forget you deciding dropping out of the air was a viable attack strategy.”

Lewis snorted. “To her it is.”

“It was!” Vivi fixed him with a pout. “I knew you’d be ready and there was no doubt in my mind that Lewis would catch me.”

“And if something had gone wrong?”

“I had a contingency plan.”

“Which was?” Lewis prodded.

“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t have to use it.”

“AKA: there wasn’t one.” Arthur rolled his eyes.

“You could have used my miraculous to save her, you know.” Zippi emerged from his hiding place in Arthur’s vest. “With me, you would be fast enough to catch her.”

“See!” Vivi crowed triumphantly. “I told you I had a plan.”

“You did not. Besides, I don’t even know how to use his miraculous, so that’s another strike against you.”

Vivi puffed out her cheeks.

“It’s 'Scamper,’ to transform,” Zippi hovered near Arthur’s face. “You only have to tell me that and I’ll transform you.”

Arthur stared at Zippi, fingers plucking at his goatee, mouth half-open as if to say something.

There was a sudden knock on the door that made him jump in place. “Mr. and Mrs. Pepper-Kingsmen, this is the police. Please open the door.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more history on Zippi and Arthur needing to have more faith in himself.
> 
> Also [Garum](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2018/01-02/what-is-garum-rome-fish-sauce/). the process by which it is made might turn your stomach so click with caution.
> 
> I know I am horrible about answering comments, but I want to thank everyone who has commented on this strange little wander into the weird. I treasure all of the comments, even if I can never find the words to say thank you properly.


	7. Somewhere Over the Raynbeux

They all shared a startled, confused look before Lewis disappeared back into his anchor and Zippi flew to find a hiding spot. Arthur caught the anchor out of the air and dropped its chain around Vivi’s neck.

"Just a moment!" Vivi called back, her voice pitched to sound breathy, before rapidly disrobing, giving Arthur a 'follow my lead' look.  He followed suit, stripping down and grabbing his pajama pants.

Vivi wrapped the long, fluffy bathrobe the hotel had provided around her, tying it sloppily to show a bit of cleavage and a hickey high on her collarbone.

"Can I help you?" she opened the door and asked in a partially annoyed tone, canting her hip and resting her hand on it. The robe gaped a little to show a bare thigh.

"Took you a while to get to the door," the burly cop commented. "Hiding something?"

"We're on our honeymoon. Guess." Vivi hiked the sliding collar of the robe a bit higher, the motion designed to catch his eyes.

The officer suddenly seemed to realize she was wearing a bathrobe and Arthur just a pair of pajama pants and rapidly averted his eyes. "Uh, we had a report that Mr. Pepper-Kingsmen had become Akumatized during his stay here."

"Yeah, that's right." Arthur nodded.  "We saw Chat Noir and since no one told us about the whole superhero/villain thing, I thought he was a cat burglar and panicked. Thankfully that meant he and Ladybug were right there. I never even got fully possessed."

"Er, be that as it may, all instances of known Akumatization or other supervillain activity need to be reported to the police. And as it's an ongoing investigation, we'd like to ask you not to leave the city until the problem has been dealt with."

Vivi frowned. "That could end up being a problem. We're only supposed to be here for two weeks. We don't have the funds to stay in this hotel indefinitely, nor do we have work permits to get a job here."

"That won't be a problem, Madame. The mayor had a wing of his hotel put aside in case Hawkmoth's victim's can't afford their own lodging. It was a compromise to getting the law passed."

"Look, I wasn't aware of the law, but I can come down to the station tomorrow and give a full report of what happened." Arthur offered.

"That will be fine, Monsieur. Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon." Touching the brim of his hat, the officer retreated.

Arthur sighed, closing the door. "Was the getting undressed really necessary, Vi?"

"It was." She said, kissing his cheek. "It made him feel awkward and very disinclined to look more closely at us. Plus now we have a night to make sure our story is straight." She tapped a fingernail on the locket. “Lew, you can come out now, the coast is clear.” She smirked at Arthur as Lewis rematerialized. “There was also another bonus to my plan.” She trailed a finger up his bare chest. “I get to see you without a shirt.”

“Vi—” Arthur caught her fingers. “You’ve seen me shirtless plenty, both before and after we were married.”

“And I enjoy the view every time,” she all but purred. “Don’t you, Lew?”

Arthur put a finger on her nose and pushed her head back a little. “Don’t start that right now. Besides, don’t we have a story to straighten out?”

Her pout was playful. “Aww, but we’re already dressed for it.”

"Vivi, no." Lewis frowned as she turned her pout on him. “I mean it, love. Planning first, then.... other honeymoon activities.”

“God, you are adorable,” Arthur snickered. “Say it with me, Lew, sex—”

Lewis put a large hand over Arthur’s mouth. “Stop.”

Zippi chose that moment to reappear. “Why does he want you to stay?”

Vivi hummed. “Forgot we had an audience.” She tied her robe a little tighter and settled down in the chaise lounge, tucking her feet under her. “My best guess is because they’re building a terrorism case against this Hawkmoth creep and want all their witnesses close at hand.”

Arthur sat down on the foot of the bed. “I don’t like it. There’s a lot about it that smells fishy.”

“Fish?” Zippy perked up.

“Expression, Zippi. It means there’s more going on than we can see on the surface.” Arthur explained. "The mayor opening his _very_ ritzy hotel to people they’ve stranded. It smells like a PR stunt.”

Vivi leaned her head back on the corner of the chair, her gaze distant. "Oh, I'll bet money it is. Remember the time all the flooding hit south of us? The mayor of that one little town... I forgot the name, but he pulled a stunt like that. Rented rooms at hotels for all the people who got flooded out. He's now on his third term. Because he went on tv saying what he was doing, support and funds poured in from all sorts of charities and organizations. And all the people he helped, well, of course they were going to keep him in office." She snorted. "I'm betting that's what Paris's mayor is doing. _Look at how I'm putting myself out, helping all these people this terrorist harmed. I'm so selfless. Vote for me..."_

"And unless we can help the kids defeat Hawkmoth in under two weeks, we're going to be some of those people he's helping." Lewis said, his hair throwing off thin wisps of spectral flame in his agitation.

Arthur groaned. "And it's my fault because he tried to Akuma—"

"Ahh-un," Vivi scolded, holding up a finger. "No laying blame on yourself, love. All the fault here lies with Hawkmoth-ra himself."

Arthur sighed. "This is gonna be fun."

"What exactly are we gonna tell the police? I'm not even supposed to be here." Lewis sat down next to Arthur.

"We'll keep it close to the truth." Arthur leaned against him. "The best lie is indistinguishable from the truth. Sooo..."

He hummed thoughtfully, arranging his thoughts. "I woke up, my shoulder was bugging me after the long plane ride, and saw a shadow on the balcony. Not knowing any better, I thought it was a cat burglar—"

"Arthur..."

"Don't interrupt, Lew. So I was afraid for Vivi's safety—"

"Fear for your own. I'm not a damsel in distress."

Heaving a put-upon sigh, Arthur corrected himself. "Vivi's _and_ my safety.” He fixed her with a stare. “I was worried about your safety, and if you had woken up first you'd be worried about mine. Knowing each other is capable doesn't change the fact that we worry about each other.”

“Fair.” 

“I didn't have a weapon but my screwdriver was on the bedside table because I had to adjust things on my arm after it riding in cargo all the way here, so I grabbed for it. Voice in my head, etcetera..."

"You'd seen enough horror movies to know that was bad news." Vivi chuckled. "You've watched enough of them with me."

Arthur shuddered. "Told said voice to get the fuck out of my head. Leave out the part with Lewis trying to restrain me and the magic bat. Chat broke the screwdriver, Akuma caught, end of story."

“Think that will satisfy them?” Lewis looked a little worried. “What if they ask for more details?”

“I’ll provide them. The only things we’re leaving out are you, Vi’s magic and the fact that she broke the screwdriver. The rest is the unvarnished truth.”

"It's simple and easy enough to keep straight. I like it." Vivi nodded.

"The story is fine. It's the whole not being allowed to leave that really bugs me. Is that even legal?" Arthur scowled at nothing, hands fidgeting with the drawstring on his pajama pants.

"Yes and no," Vivi answered. "He said a law had been passed to that effect, so that does bring it into the realm of legality, even if its a bit on the shady side. Detaining foreign nationals, though, that's kinda a little much. Wonder what the UN said about it?"

"Probably not much," Lewis put in, frowning thoughtfully. "If it falls under a blanket term of 'national security' there's a lot that can be excused and handwaved." He snorted, his hair sparking. "And honestly, the whole magic aspect—? I can see it being that way. That teacher today kinda proves the point. Literal thinking like that can be very dangerous, especially when it's those in power."

Arthur growled under his breath. "You have a point. Throw around the implication of terrorism and suddenly there's a whole lot that can be swept under the rug, including only semi-legal detainment."

Vivi rose from the settee and wedged herself between her husbands. "We'll play it their way, at least on the surface. Underneath though, is another matter. We'll call home tonight. Make sure everyone knows what's going on." Her smile turned a bit wicked. "And now, I'm inclined to add a little veracity to what we implied to the cop. We could use the stress relief."

"Vivi, you're incorrigible."

"And you love me for it. Zippi, think you can find a way to entertain yourself elsewhere?"

The Kwami looked between the three of them. "I'm sure the hotel has a kitchen. Maybe I can find some real fish there."

"Don't get caught." Vivi cautioned.

Zippi vanished through a wall with a nod.

 

~~~~

 

The phone calls went about as well as expected. The Pepper’s were outraged on their behalf and admittedly worried, since Lewis was not exactly legal (also dead, but the less people knew that, the better) and wondered when they would be allowed to leave.

Lance was much less polite in his assessment of the law enforcement of Paris. He was also much louder than the Pepper’s, and with more swearing. He promised to wire more money from Arthur’s savings into his regular checking account so that they would have spending money, in spite of Arthur’s protests, because he knew Lance would try to supplement their funds with his own.

As they were trying to get him to calm down, there was a loud noise from his end of the line. Lance paused and sighed. There was a strange tone to his voice when he spoke again. "Might wanna be prepped for a visitor, kids. Your not-a-dog mutt just ripped the front door clean off the hinges on his way out."

Arthur sighed heavily, rubbing his hand down his face. "I'd say I'd fix it for you when I get home but..." He groaned. "But there's no telling when that'll be."

"Not sure I'm willing to wait weeks or even months to have a front door again," Lance chuckled wryly. "I'll just have you work it off in the garage once you get home."

"That won't be necessary," Vivi cut in. "As much as I appreciate his concern, Mystery is as capable of paying his own debts as much as he is opening doors."

Lance harrumphed. “Be that as it may, gal, he’s sure on his way to come ridin’ to your rescue.”

“Won’t he be surprised to see just how little rescuing we need.” Lewis chuckled.

After they hung up with Lance, Vivi called the Tome Tomb, to let Duet know they might need to find a new assistant manager as she had been unavoidably detained for an unknown amount of time.

Duet was pragmatic. “We will see. Things are not always what or how they seem. Look for friends in unexpected places and enemies closer at hand than you may think.”

“Thanks for the cryptic, but the matter stands. You might have to hire someone to take my place. I’m stuck in Paris for the indefinite future.”

“The future is always indefinite; always in motion. I will take the matter under advisement. Chloe wishes me to tell you she wants souvenirs. Also she wishes you to know to ‘keep your eyes open for any 'hotties. You know my type' end quote."

Vivi rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Not likely."

Arthur muffled a snort of laughter beside her. “Not coming home with any more undead than we left with,” he muttered in a low voice.

Vivi stifled a snicker and smacked his arm. “Sorry I can’t be there to resign on purpose, but until this matter gets taken care of, we’re stuck here.”

“I will take care of the shop, do not worry. I will see you when you return safely.”

Vivi made a disgusted face as she hung up the phone. “I honestly could have used a little less cryptic and a lot more helpful. But when has Duet ever been anything else?”

Lewis rubbed a hand down her back soothingly. “I’m wondering why the kids didn’t mention anything about this law to us. You’d think they would have after Arthur was nearly—”

“Lewis, when you were their age did you actually give one thought for what those in power were doing unless it actually affected you?” Vivi scowled blankly at the phone in her hand.

“I don’t honestly think that they knew,” Arthur was quick to offer soothingly. “I get the feeling that it’s something that the mayor pushed through. The adults may not want to talk about it, either, considering how many of the Akuma victims have been kids too.” He patted his laptop. “I spent a little time looking at this ‘Ladyblog’ and for all the writer is their age, she keeps pretty comprehensive records. A good percentage of the Akuma victims have been under the age of fifteen.”

“So if no one who was a victim is allowed to leave—” Lewis began. “Their parents are afraid of the kids reactions if they find out they can’t leave for anything more than a weekend trip.”

Vivi pursed her lips. “I can understand their reasoning, but can’t condone it. It’ll just cause more problems down the line.”

“We’ll have to tell Adrien and Marinette,” Arthur worried at one of the seams on his metal forearm absentmindedly. “They’ll know something is up when we have to move from here to Ritz central, instead of going home. It’s not like our honeymoon would last that long, either.”

“They’re not going to be happy.”

 

~~~~

 

They took a cab down to the police station early the next morning. 

Vivi wore Lewis’s locket around her neck since he had indicated they'd have to kill him a second time to get him to stay behind. They were led into a plain room with walls painted in muted beige and cream tones and offered tea. Arthur declined but Vivi accepted the paper cup. All too soon a fairly young police officer came into the room. He had swarthy skin with dark hair and darker eyes that assessed them carefully. He wasn’t the one who had come knocking on their door, but his expression was the same, half determination, and the rest a mix of contrition and worry.

Arthur wasn’t going to play the ‘rude American’ game he had with Fu, so he smiled, rose to his feet, and extended his hand. “Arthur Pepper-Kingsmen. I was asked to come down to the station and make a full report today.”

“I was told you are American, yet you speak excellent French.” The officer shook his hand. “I am Officer Raynbeux. I will be taking your statement on the events of...” he checked the papers in his hand. “I do not have a date for the occurrence.”

“It was April seventeenth,” Vivi said. “Our flight landed on the morning of the sixteenth and we checked into the hotel right after we caught a cab from the airport.”

“You are Mrs. Pepper-Kingsmen?”

“Yes. Vivi Pepper-Kingsmen.” She stood and extended her own hand. “We came to Paris on our honeymoon. I must say, things are not turning out the way we planned.”

Officer Raynbeux shook her hand with a faint smile. “I am certain of that. Would you care to tell me what happened that evening?”

Vivi smirked a little and Arthur raised an eyebrow at her. “I think you can leave that part out, Vi.”

“Aww. No fun.”

A faint flush crept over Officer Raynbeux’s brown cheeks. “I think I can do without the details on that, thank you.”

Vivi chuckled at his discomfiture but calmed when Arthur rested a hand on her wrist. They settled back into the chairs they had vacated. 

“What can you tell me about that evening, less the parts your wife seems so eager to share?”

Arthur chuckled. “After we had gone to bed, I woke up sometime in the early morning. I think it was after two, but I didn’t look at the clock.” He lifted his left arm a bit, keeping the fingers a little stiff. No point in letting them know just how advanced his prosthetic was. “It was about a ten hour flight, so my shoulder was bothering me. I had just taken some medication and was walking around waiting for it to kick in when I saw a shadowy figure land outside on the balcony. We hadn’t heard about the whole supervillain/hero thing at that time, so my first thought was of a cat burglar. I wanted to protect Vivi and myself, so I grabbed the first thing that came to hand, the screwdriver I’d been using to perform maintenance on my prosthetic.” He shook his head and shivered. "That’s when I heard the voice in my head—”

Vivi squeezed his hand and bumped her shoulder against his.

“He— he told me he would give me the power to protect her.” Arthur continued softly.

"Hawkmoth always offers something, usually for the miraculous of the city’s hero’s." Officer Raynbeux prodded.

"The safety of those I love." Arthur squeezed Vivi's hand tighter, bringing it up to lay a kiss on her knuckles. "I didn't believe him."

"I was told you resisted. How?"

"Honestly? If I’d thought he was at all sincere, I might not have been able to. For Vivi. For my family, I'd give anything..." Arthur drifted off for a moment, then shook his head fiercely. "But there was nothing sincere about Hawkmoth. He was...is the phrase _‘snake oil salesman’_ used in France?”

“I am familiar with the phrase, yes.”

“His words were sweet, but felt like they— they were covered in slime or something. His tone was condescending; definitely thought he was better than me, which did not give me warm and fuzzies about his motives. Also he wanted to call me Loose Screw, a term that means madness.  Not the phraseology of someone trying to make things better. And that's all without the creepy talking-in-my-head thing. So I certainly didn't think he had my best interests at heart, much less my family's. For all I'd known he'd use me to hurt them. Hurt her. And that—” Arthur looked him dead in the eye. "— is not acceptable."

"How was it you managed not to succumb? How did you fight him off?"

"Not very well, honestly." Arthur's face fell. He wished he had been stronger; able to evict Hawkmoth entirely. "I was screaming and flailing around the whole time. I just kept yelling at him over and over to get out of my head."

There was a strange look in Officer Raynbeux's eyes when Arthur managed to look up and meet them; something almost like an epiphany. His lips moved but no sound came out. 

Finally he seemed to come back to himself and blinked down at his papers. "And then...?"

Vivi patted Arthur's hand where it was clenched a little too tight on her own and took up the thread of narration. "I woke up to him screaming and thrashing. I tried to grab for him and right about then the balcony doors burst open. Turns out what he thought was a thief was Chat Noir and Ladybug passing the hotel on patrol. Chat grabbed the screwdriver from Arthur's hand and it crumbled to dust. Arthur collapsed into my arms. There was a butterfly that Ladybug caught and then they helped me get Arthur back into bed and told us a little about what was going on. But they never mentioned the investigation or any laws about it."

Officer Raynbeux looked a little uncomfortable. "I do not know whether they were consulted on it. The city of Paris is building a case against Hawkmoth for domestic terrorism, as his victims and all of his attacks are concentrated here. Most of the victims have been French nationals, with one or two exceptions, yourself among them."

"So everyone involved in this has to stay in the city?" Arthur asked. 

"For the most part." He flipped through his stack of papers. "The new law was put into effect to temporarily detain all the victims affected by Hawkmoth, while the case is being built against him."

"That sounds like a qualifier." Vivi folded her arms and stared at Officer Raynbeux. “That ‘for the most part’ bit.”

"There was one exception that had to be made to avoid an international incident. The victim was a highly regarded chef here for an international competition, and one of the judges sabotaged his dish, causing his Akumatization."

Vivi raised her free hand and rested it over the locket at her throat, fingers moving in small circles over the metal.

Officer Raynbeux's voice lowered slightly, like he was giving away a guarded secret. "The Chinese envoys were enraged at the reason behind his Akumatization. We did get some good will back, though, when the judges removed the perpetrator and redid the round. He took the competition, but considering the thin ice we were already on with the Chinese embassy, it was deemed that holding him here would not be in the city's best interests." He rubbed his forehead before continuing. "There's also some leeway given if a victim lives less than an hour away. Easy enough to get a hold of them for questions and statements, and it's less of a drain on the fund supporting those, like yourselves, who have to stay."

"How long will we have to stay?" Vivi asked. "I mean, most of us have lives and jobs we need to get back to. Our money won't last forever, especially after our jobs fire us for not coming back."

"I wish I had more information for you on that, but as it stands, we do not know. Again, accommodations for your room and board will be made once your current reservation runs out. I will see about putting you in contact with those who might be able to supply you with a temporary work visa."

It was a little over three hours after they had arrived at the station that they were able to leave. Arthur had signed a copy of his statement after having a translator read it back. While the spell had gifted them the spoken language, written was another matter. They had both spoken with an advisor on their options, other than the straight-up room and board at _Le Grande Paris_ for the duration of their— stay. Vivi had been quite interested in some of what they had been told and as soon as they were out of the station mentioned seeing if there might be another spell that would give her a grasp of the written language. 

“I don’t trust anything I can’t research on my own terms,” she confided to Arthur as they sought an out of the way spot so Lewis could leave his anchor unseen. 

He was fuming when he emerged, drawing them both into a tight embrace. “You’re alright?”

Vivi patted his arm and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “We’re fine, Lew-lew. It was just questioning. You were there.”

Arthur snorted, adjusting himself in Lewis’s fierce hold so Zippi wasn’t being squashed into his ribs. “You got angry, didn’t you? At the sabotaged cooking competition? Spent the rest of the time stewing over it?”

Lewis ducked his head. “Yeah, kinda—” He had a better control of his temper... now. It had been a hard road coming back from a spirit motivated by nothing but rage and perceived betrayal. Sometimes, he still lapsed. Thankfully, he had Vivi and Arthur to draw him back to himself. “You know how I get angry sometimes.”

Vivi smoothed a soothing hand over his locket. “Shhh.”

Arthur hummed against him, slipping his flesh arm around Lewis’s waist. “I think we should just go back to the hotel. Suddenly, sightseeing isn’t holding the appeal it once was. Maybe just a little quiet time would be better for all of us.”

Some of the tension left Lewis's frame and he rested his cheek on the crown of Arthur’s head. “When did you get so smart?”

Arthur chuckled, the sound thrumming through Lewis like a heartbeat. “Hey, I’ve always been smart. A smartass, to quote Uncle Lance.”

The rest of the tension in him broke and he laughed along with Arthur and Vivi.

 

~~~~

 

Marinette was almost done with her homework when her mother called up the stairs. “Marinette, Alya is here. Should I send her up?”

Surprised, because Alya hadn’t called first, Marinette rose from her desk. “Sure!”

Alya came up the stairs, her smile wide and her eyes bright with glee. "Marinette, have I got a juicy scoop!" 

"What is it, Alya?" Usually this level of excitement would be something for the Ladyblog, but things had been uneventful the last few days. Hawkmoth had been entirely quiet since the incident with Judicaila. Vivi had told both Marinette and Adrien she was sure he was planning something.

Alya plumphed down on her chaise and held up her phone. “So you know, I got a short interview with the new heroes?”

“Yeah, I saw it on the blog. What about it?” Marinette smiled. Alya had been running a survey on the blog for names for the new superheroes, all things considered. Adrien was amused by most of the suggestions and kept sharing them with her on his late evening visits.

"So, one of the new heroes, the girl, said something kind of weird in the interview. _'Putting Hawkmoth in a six by eight.'_ I've been trying to figure out what that meant. It took a lot of internet searching, let me tell you. But it turns out that's a purely American phrase, commonly from tv shows, for prison cells. At least one of the new heroes is American!"

“O-oh?” Marinette flinched. “How can you be sure?” 

“I had to look it up. It’s the standard measure for a prison cell, but— it is in _feet_. Do you know too many other countries that use that system of measurement?”

Marinette swallowed and tried to look interested while inside her gut was in a knot. Alya did not give up on ideas easily, and unless she could steer Alya’s attention away, her friend would chew on that idea and possibly find Vivi, Arthur and Lewis. While she didn’t think Alya would out them on the Ladyblog, there was always a chance of a slip. “I don’t know if that’s really a great assumption to base a theory on, Alya. I mean... What if it means something else?”

“Yeah, you don’t want to know some of the other definitions I found,” Akya shuddered. “But that was seriously the only one that made any kind of sense.”

Judging from the look on Alya’s face, Marinette decided she really didn’t want to know, but she still needed to distract her. “Umm—”

There was a soft thump from her loft and suddenly there was a grinning face in a black mask and cat ears dangling upside down above them. “Hey, Ladylove—” Bright green eyes focused on Alya. “Oh... I didn’t know you had company.”

Alya’s phone slipped from her fingers and her mouth dropped open. “Chat Noir?”

“Unless Copycat has made a reappearance, I’m paws-itive that’s me.” Chat dropped down to seat himself on Marinette’s desk. “The ladyblogger, right?”

“R-right. I’m Alya.” Alya bent to retrieve her phone, but her eyes never left Chat.

“Marinette’s best friend, too.” Chat grinned. “She’s told me a little about you.”

“Uhh—” Alya’s eyes slid sideways to Marinette. “She did—?”

“Chat—” Marinette began.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your girls night, Princess.” His lop-sided smile was endearing. “I can go—”

“NO!” Alya was on her feet. “Um, no, you don’t have to leave on my account. Was there an Akuma attack nearby or something?” She frowned at the phone in her hand. “Funny. I didn’t get any alerts.”

Chat’s smile was wicked. “No, no attacks.” He leaned over to rest his arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “I thought you had told her, Ladylove.”

Marinette flushed red. Well, she _had_ wanted a distraction. “A little. I knew you wanted it kept quiet, s-so I never told her the details.”

Alya’s phone hit the floor again and she stared wide-eyed at Chat with his arm snuggled comfortably around Marinette’s shoulders. She made a high-pitched sound of confusion, her now empty hand flapping back and forth between him and Marinette, too flustered to actually point.

Chat leaned forward and tapped Alya's forehead with a claw, smirking.. She continued to gape, her face a study in perplexity.. "I think we broke your friend, Ladylove."

Marinette covered her increasingly red face with a hand. "Chat..."

Alya looked back and forth, blinking rapidly. "Blonde hair...green eyes....wears black... Girl **_how???"_ **

“I told you I had met someone else, Alya.”

 _“YOU FAILED TO MENTION THAT SOMEONE WAS_ **_CHAT FRIKKIN NOIR!!_   _"_**

“Alya, stop! Mama and Papa will hear you.” Marinette shooshed with a finger across her lips. “Also— you’re embarrassing him.”

Alya sat back down on the chaise with a thump, her face pale. “I’m embarrassing him?”

Chat was purring against her, his smile wide. “Oh, I’m not embarrassed. How could I be embarrassed when I’m with you?”

Marinette eeped. Even knowing who was on the other side of the mask couldn’t save her sometimes. She smiled up at him but poked his nose with a fingertip. “Okay, so _you’re_ embarrassing me.”

“Ouch!” His smile was playful and he clutched his chest. “How you wound me, Princess.”

“Marinette, HOW?” Alya’s tone was just below a shriek.

Marinette sighed and patted Chat’s cheek. “How what, Alya? And keep your voice down or do you want my parents coming up here?”

Alya’s hands flapped wildly in the air. “Maybe they should. Maybe they can explain things in a way that will make sense!”

“What doesn’t make sense?” Chat purred, all smiles.

“You! _This!”_ Alya gestured between them. “I’ve watched her crush on someone for a year now. She couldn't even manage two words in a row around him! How did she—? All this—?” Her sweeping motion took in all of Chat from pointed ears to boots.

True to form, he posed like he was in front of a camera, flexing his arms.

 _Just because he could..._ “Chat—” Marinette sighed. 

“It’s barely been a few days, how did you go from unable to string a sentence together to this?” Alya pointed again at Chat, unaffected by his playacting.

Marinette sobered. They hadn’t ironed out all the details. So... a lie that was close enough to the truth. “We actually met a while back. Remember when Nathaniel got turned into Evillustrator? He— he kinda had a thing for me. Ladybug—” 

“She asked me to keep an eye on Marinette while she set up a trap,” Chat picked up easily. “Frankly, Marinette wasn’t impressed by me back then.”

Marinette slapped his arm. “Maybe if you hadn’t been such a goofball, kitty!”

He puffed his cheeks out in a pout, but continued. “Anyway, I protected the princess from him until Ladybug’s trap was sprung. I checked up on Marinette a couple of times after that.”

“I have a soft spot for strays,” she teased back, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

“But—” Alya bit her lip and pointed at Chat. “Didn’t you have a thing for Ladybug? I mean—”

“Alya—” Marinette interrupted gently. “I told you, ‘someone who got rejected when he tried to ask out his crush.’ Who do you think it was who rejected him?”

“Ohh...” Alya sank down, her shoulders coming up around her ears. “So—”

“I ran into him after the akuma attack at the museum.” Marinette left Chat’s side and sat next to Alya, covering her hands with her own. “We, neither of us, were in a very good place. We both needed someone to talk to.”

A faint smile flickered over Alya’s lips. “Shared pain, huh?”

Chat rolled a shoulder in a shrug. “It helped. We talked a lot that evening. And—”

“We’re comfortable around each other.” Marinette finished solemnly. “And that was never something either of us had with our ‘crushes’.”

“Oh.” 

“I should get going, Ladylove,” Chat said suddenly. “It’s late and I have places to be tomorrow.”

Oh, that was right. They were both supposed to meet Lewis for ‘possession resistance’ training. “Right. I’ll see you off. Alya, be back in a sec.”

Chat gave her a hand up through the trapdoor and perched on the railing. “Not exactly my plans for the evening, but...”

She stepped close, standing between his knees and looking up into his face. “You’re okay with it?” She was careful with her words. Not that she didn’t trust Alya, but there was no way she wasn’t eavesdropping.

“I am. She’s your friend. You needed someone else to confide in.” His tone indicated he knew as much as she did that they had a listener. “Until next time, Ladylove.” 

She stretched up as he bent a little further in his easy crouch, and their lips met in a sweet farewell kiss.

She felt more than saw one of his pointed ears twitch and knew he had heard the click of the camera on Alya’s phone.

Chat uncoiled and was crouched over the trapdoor and a wide-eyed Alya in between one breath and the next, clawed fingers resting lightly around her phone. "You're Marinette's friend so you can have that picture, but absolutely no posting it. I don't want her in any danger."

Alya’s head nodded so hard it looked like it might fall off.

He gave her a wide smile. “Good girl.” Withdrawing his hand from the phone, he offered a flippant salute, blew a kiss at Marinette and vaulted away.

Alya’s head abruptly disappeared from the hatch and Marinette hurried over to find her legs had given out and she was sprawled on Marinette’s bed. There was a bemused look on her face and her fingers were wrapped so tightly around the phone it was creaking in her grasp.

“Alya—?” she asked carefully, letting herself down and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Girl— I think I’m in shock. How did you—?” Alya waved her hand blindly in the direction of the hatch.

Marinette cracked a smile. “What? Didn't you think I could find a boyfriend?”

Alya slapped weakly at her. “All things considered, no. Also not just a boyfriend, but a superhero!”

Marinette couldn’t help it. She dissolved into a fit of giggles, collapsing across Alya’s stomach. “A dork of a superhero,” she snickered. “Did you see him posing like that?”

A fit of half-hysterical laughter convulsed Alya beneath her. “Oh my god, yes. I kept expecting him to kiss his own bicep!”

Marinette snorted and imitated his pose as well as she could, sprawled across Alya as she was. She made doe eyes at her own arm and puckered up her lips. Alya roared with delighted laughter.

When she could finally uncurl she glanced at Marinette out of the corner of her eye. “B-but he’s your d-dork, right?” she wheezed.

Marinette scrubbed her eyes, glad that Alya couldn’t tell the difference between relief and laughter. “He is, really.” She peered down at Alya. “We’re good, right? You— you get why I couldn’t tell you?”

Ayla sobered. “Yeah, girl. We are. I understand. It’s a big secret and a dangerous one. I’m glad you’re willing to trust me with it.”

Marinette hauled her into a fierce hug. “Always.”

 

~~~~

 

Right after school, Marinette and Adrien met up on the roof and transformed in the shelter of the stairwell for their first training session with Lewis. Adrien was understandably nervous after his first experience with Piano, and that translated to a jumpy, nervous kitty crossing the city to the hotel beside her. 

Ladybug paused on a rooftop shortly before they reached the hotel and waited until Chat touched down beside her. 

“Milady? Is something wrong?” He asked, his cat-ears slightly flattened and his tail lashing around his ankles.

“There is.” Ladybug reached up and worked her fingers into his hair at the nape of his neck, gently scratching her gloved fingertips against his scalp. 

He jumped but as soon as he felt her fingers against his skin, his eyes fluttered half-shut and the tension drained out of him. “Oh—” A purr rumbled in his chest and he leaned his head into her hand.

“That’s better,” Ladybug smiled at him and stepped close enough to press her forehead against his, fingers still working against his scalp. “You were too worked up, kitty. At this rate you would have had a panic attack before we even got there.”

“Mmm—” he hummed, his breath feathering over her skin. “How do you always know what I need, Ladylove?”

She chuckled. “Not always. But I’m learning.”

He made a soft sound of agreement and tilted his head to kiss her. 

With her free hand, Ladybug blocked his attempt. “Ah-ah. No cheating on your girlfriend where someone might see you, my kitty.”

It worked just as she thought it would and he started laughing. Grinning, she pulled her hands away while he chuckled breathlessly. “I am—” He snorted. “A-paw-led you would think I’d go catting around on her.”

She couldn’t help a giggle. “Let’s go before I’m forced to tell on you.”

“So mean.” But he followed willingly after her, the tension thoroughly broken.

They alighted on the balcony quietly, making sure they had arrived unseen. One of the glass doors was ajar, an invitation. Chat still tapped lightly on a pane before they entered.

“Come in,” Lewis’s soft baritone answered.

Arthur was seated in the chaise, his head tilted back and eyes closed. He wasn’t asleep though, as he lifted his left hand and wiggled his fingers in greeting. Vivi was seated crosswise in his lap, her back supported by his right arm and the arm of the chair. She was curled against his chest, her head bent over a book and a notebook spread over her knees. She was chewing on the end of a pen as she read.

Lewis was seated cross-legged on the floor, a pair of his little pink deadbeats curled in his lap like cats. He looked up at them and Ladybug couldn’t help a startled blink. She’d gotten used to seeing him in his human guise, but his eyes were always hidden behind sunglasses. For good reason. His eyes were black voids with bright pink irises glowing against the darkness. They looked even spookier in a human face than they did in a skeletal one. She could hear Chat’s startled hiss of breath beside her. 

Lewis gestured at the floor in front of him. “Grab a spot.”

Ladybug dropped down into a seated position, and Chat crouched beside her.

Lewis’s mouth quirked sideways. “Sit, Chat. You don’t want to fall over during this.”

With a pensive frown, Chat obeyed.

Lewis stared at him for a long moment. “We won’t hurt you,” he raised one hand with a deadbeat coiled around it. “You already know how weird it will feel, but the very last thing any of us would do is harm you. This is just to give you a weapon against Hawkmoth’s attempts to possess you.”

Chat blew out a sigh. “I— it was weird. I could feel my body, but I wasn’t the one in control.”

“Yeah, that’s possession, kid.” Arthur’s voice was low. “Trapped in a body that’s answering to someone else’s will.”

"We'll start with you, Ladybug." Lewis shot a concerned gaze at Arthur, but said nothing to him. "Don't try to fight Piano off. I want you to understand what it feels like and what to expect when you're actually trying to keep her out. 

Ladybug bit her bottom lip but nodded. 

Piano uncurled from Lewis's arm and drifted over to her. It didn’t bite like it had Chat, only touching her with one nubby arm before vanishing.

Cold. Cold crept over her limbs and for a moment her senses felt muffled, like she was seeing the world through a thick, murky fog. She could feel her hand lift, fingers curling into an 'ok' sign, but it was none of her doing. She tried to say something but her voice choked off in her throat. Panic built when her hand touched the yoyo at her hip. No!

Suddenly she was free and air rushed into her frozen lungs in a huge gasp. Shaking, she pitched backwards, away from the pink creature staring in her face. _"Yiiii—!"_

“Milady?!” Chat’s voice was nearly as panicked as she felt. Warm hands gripped her upper arms. “Ladylove?”

She grabbed hard onto Chat’s arms, staring into his frightened green eyes. His touch and voice steadied her and after a moment of frightened panting, she was able to cram her heart back into its rightful place in her chest, instead of choking her throat. 

“I—” She swallowed hard. “I’m okay, kitty. I’m okay.” Ladybug drew in several deep breaths, aware as never before of the workings of her own lungs. Her hands remained tight on Chat’s forearms, the play of his muscles under her fingers helping her regain the sense of her own body being hers again.

“No, you’re not,” Arthur’s voice was dull and toneless. “But you will be. It takes a while to get over that kind of violation.”

 _Violation—_ That was a good word for how it had felt, being trapped in her own body while it danced to another creature’s whims. 

“Vi, maybe you should—” Lewis began.

“Stop trying, Lewis.” Arthur cut him off. “I’m not leaving.”

“I’ve got him, Lewis.” Vivi’s concern was clear as she wound her arms tightly around Arthur’s neck and pulled him more firmly against her. “Stop being so stubborn.”

“We have things to talk about after the training,” Arthur retorted with a touch of acid. His eyes remained closed and his supporting arm had tightened around Vivi’s waist. “So no, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You hard-headed—” There was affection in Vivi’s tone, and she pressed closer to him. “It’s no shame to admit that this is hard for you.”

“And that’s why I have to be here.” Arthur sighed. “I have to.”

Zippi emerged from his hiding place in Arthur’s vest and cuddled into his neck, crooning softly.

Ladybug stared at the pained, but resolute look on Arthur’s drawn face. She released Chat and settled back into a sitting position. “Let’s do this.” The faster they got it over with, the better.

Lewis glanced between her and Arthur before slowly nodding. “This time, remember what it felt like and fight back. It will be hard, but resist. Even a little bit can go a long way in keeping someone out of your mind.”

Ladybug nodded and drew in a deep breath.

Piano was just reaching for her again when the door burst open on its hinges. Framed in it was a creature out of nightmare, red, glowing eyes, far too many sharp teeth and tails that wove a serpentine, deadly dance around it.

Ladybug was already on her feet, yoyo spinning. “Akuma!”

Chat crouched in front of her, hissing like a tea-kettle and his baton already whirling in his hands to fend it off. His green eyes darted over the monster. “It— it doesn’t smell like an Akuma, Milady!” He drew another deep breath and his nose wrinkled. “It smells like magic and— wet dog?”

The monster stopped moving, lifting its angular, red and black-maned head. Incongruously, a pair of tiny yellow spectacles perched on its long muzzle. “Lewis is not an Akuma, he’s a ghost. And I smell like fox. A much more pleasant scent, I assure you, though unfortunately, the wet part is quite accurate.”

“Mystery!” Vivi launched herself up from Arthur’s lap. Arthur pushed himself to his feet a step behind her.

The monster was across the room before they could react. Vivi went down under the onslaught, black paws pinning her to the floor. It lowered it’s massive head, jaw lolling open. Chat lunged after it—

And stopped, confused as it began to lick Vivi’s face with all the enthusiasm of a puppy. All of its tails— were _wagging?_

“Ack— pfff— Mystery!” But Vivi was giggling, her hands buried in the thick red and black ruff framing the narrow muzzle. She pulled the monster’s head down, kissing the black nose before hugging the creature’s neck. “I missed you, silly. How did you manage to get here so soon?”

“Vivi—?” Ladybug had lowered her yoyo, but hadn’t relaxed her tense pose. This, on top of the training... she knew she was too keyed up, her attack reflexes on a hair trigger.

Laughing, Vivi shoved the large head away and got to her knees, accepting a hand from Arthur to get back to her feet. “This— is Mystery. He’s the magic teacher I mentioned before.”

Beside her, the creature— Mystery— seated himself primly, multiple tails settling around him, though one remained loosely coiled around Vivi’s ankles.

Chat had relaxed entirely, a sort of gleeful expression on his masked face. “Fox? Please please _please_ tell me that’s an actual kitsune!” His cheeks were stretched in a boyish grin.

“Kitty?” Ladybug chanced.

His joy was all Adrien, pure sunshine. “Ladylove, that’s a kitsune! A Japanese fox-spirit. I’ve heard about them but, oh, wow! I never thought I’d actually see one!” His tail was twitching around his legs, short bursts of motion that betrayed his enthusiasm.

Mystery puffed out his chest and raised his head. He looked regal and powerful— at least until Vivi reached out and tweaked one pointed ear. Yipping, he jerked away and tumbled over sideways, buried under his own thrashing tails 

“Don’t inflate his ego anymore than it already is,” she chided. “Also, I’d like an answer. How did you get here and how exhausted are you?”

One red eye peered at her reproachfully from between loops of furry tail. “Vivi—” his voice was a soft whine as he untangled himself.

Arthur raised his hands, ticking off points on his metal fingers. “One; you’re wet and look like you hit a windstorm with your face. Two; you are still in your full form so that says you don’t have the magic to transform into your smaller form. Three—”

“I ran,” Mystery interrupted, head hunched between his shoulders. “Once I heard the police were detaining you—” 

“What?” Ladybug blurted, Chat’s exclamation a half-second behind hers.

Vivi gave Mystery a flat look. “I’m giving you a bath and bundling you off to bed, dumb puppy. Yeah, that was what we needed to discuss after the training— that’s thoroughly disrupted now.”

“Please,” Ladybug interrupted. “What’s going on?”

Arthur sighed. “Kinda a long story, but the gist of it is, the police are building a case against Hawkmoth and they want all witnesses, AKA ‘akuma victims’ to stay here until Hawkmoth is captured and on trial. Someone apparently mentioned that I had nearly been one and the police came knocking on the door, telling us, politely, that we couldn’t leave until the matter was settled.” 

“What?” Ladybug staggered like she’d been dealt a blow.

Lewis took charge. “You two sit down, you look like you’re going to go haring off without knowing the whole story. Maybe detransform so you can’t. Vi, go and get Mystery in that bath. It looks like he needs it. And yes, Mystery, that means you go with her and let her. Arthur, you sit down too, and explain what happened.”

Desperate for an explanation, Ladybug dropped her transformation and took a seat on the edge of the bed. As always, Chat followed her lead.

It took the entirety of Mystery’s bath for Arthur to relay the story of their visit to the police station. Marinette was torn between confusion (how on earth had they not heard anything about this?) and anger at the authorities for pulling something so— so unjust. Adrien’s reaction was a little (okay, a lot) more on the side of anger, and it wasn’t until he hissed, “So you’re _trapped_ here?” that Marinette understood why, having seen the kind of control his father took over Adrien’s life.

“For the moment,” Vivi said, emerging from the bathroom, a much smaller Mystery in her arms, bundled in towels and nearly asleep, his head drooping over her supporting arm. She settled him on a pillow, pulling a face at Adrien’s unabashed stare at what now appeared to be a small black and white terrier. “We have no intention of remaining that way.” She stroked Mystery’s head and he sighed, his eyes sliding the rest of the way closed. “And before you ask, this is his disguised form. Much easier to hide than a giant fox. He did a dumb and wore himself thin getting here.”

“Had to...” Mystery grumbled sleepily. “No one keeps my family.”

“Shh,” Vivi soothed. “We had no intention of leaving until Hawkmoth is stopped, though we weren’t expecting the police to come knocking.”

“You said you were on your honeymoon,” Marinette protested. “You would have left after that.” She wasn’t sure what to think. She’d never paid much attention to politics unless they affected her role as Ladybug, but she would have thought, as Ladybug, she’d have heard of that. 

“We would have come back.” Lewis’s voice was so firm she could not doubt the truth in his words. “We’d have been the next flight back after taking care of things at home.”

“They did us a favor in a way. We’ll be here till Hawkmoth is in prison, where he belongs.” Vivi nodded. “Not the way we would have done things, but still— we’ll get room and board until he’s out of our hair.”

Marinette bit her lip hard enough to bleed. “Uh, speaking of, you nearly gave away the fact that you’re American to Alya. If we hadn’t distracted her with— well, a more personal scoop— she’d have been doing her level best to figure you out. She might have promised she’s keep your faces hidden, but I know her and she—”

“She has a folder on her phone of every single fact she’s found out about us— Ladybug and Chat Noir, I mean— on her phone. Nino told me.” Adrien put in. “She told him about it and how well she has it hidden and protected, but she’d definitely be keeping notes on you in there.”

Lewis frowned. “You trust her with that information?” 

“I trust her with everything but— well, Ladybug— but as far as I know she doesn’t have anything super incriminating.” Marinette defended quickly. “She’s just really, really devoted to finding out everything she can.”

Lewis looked unconvinced. “I just don’t want anything to lead Hawkmoth to them. He can’t hurt me, but Vivi and Arthur are vulnerable.”

Vivi looked up from the sleeping Mystery. “I dare him to try, Lewis.”

“Vivi...” he scolded. 

“Well, it would bring him out of the woodwork. We might be done with things before our honeymoon is over.” Vivi’s smile was puckish.

“I’m sorry, I never knew any of this. We could try talking to the mayor?” Marinette offered unsurely.

“No.” Arthur shook his head. “As obvious as Vivi and Lewis have already been, I’d still prefer is we stayed under the radar. Bringing us to the attention of the mayor could be a bad idea.”

Lewis agreed with a nod and Vivi was quick to add agreement. “We can work better that way.”

“You’re not mad about it?” Adrien wondered aloud.

“Furious,” Vivi’s smile was more a baring of her teeth. “But I’m not letting that stop me from helping you.”

“Speaking of helping, it’s running a lot later than the training would have,” Lewis glanced at the clock on the bedside table. “I don’t think any of us are in the right mind for picking it back up tonight, but it isn’t something we can put off too long.”

 Adrien winced. “I’m hardly ever free until late afternoon. I have fencing tomorrow after school.”

“After that,” Marinette nodded, even though her stomach twisted at the thought of suffering another bout of having her body’s control from her. She let none of that show, though. “I’ll meet you there and we can head over after you get done.”

“Tomorrow then.” Vivi agreed. “Maybe then you’ll also get a chance to properly meet Mystery, the big dummy.”

Adrien rose to his feet and offered Marinette his hand. She took it but paused, looking back at where Arthur stood, absentmindedly watching Vivi settle Mystery and his pillow in the chaise. Pulling her hand free of Adrien’s she went over to him. “Arthur...”

He turned to her, his amber eyes tired. “Yes?”

Before she could think twice about it, she flung her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “I’ve never met anyone as brave as you. Please remember that.” 

He huffed a soft, surprised breath, before his arms curved around her to return the hug. “I’ve met braver. One of them is hugging me right now.”

Her chuckle was watery. “Stop trying to deflect. You are so strong, stronger than you think.” She shivered, reaching up to stroke Tikki’s head. “I didn’t really understand, and I don’t know the whole story, but... For just one moment during the training, I did understand. I know how you fought Hawkmoth’s influence off, what it must have cost.”

Tikki nodded along with her. “Marinette’s right. You are very brave. Zikikii chose well in you.”

Arthur made a small sound.

"You don't have to be there for the training sessions, you know. You're only hurting yourself more and none of us want to see that. Maybe take some time getting to know Zippi? Try transforming out. Adrien and I would love to show you Paris the way only we can see it."


	8. Un-Kamen Sense

Arthur had just gotten out of the shower and emerged from the bathroom with a towel in hand, carefully drying his scarred shoulder and the connection port for his arm. Vivi was sprawled on the bed, wearing only a towel, and humming in pleasure as Lewis, hovering over the bed with his legs folded under him, gently combed through her wet hair. Zippi was amusing himself by jumping on the buttons of the remote, rapidly changing the channels on the tv. Thankfully someone (probably Lewis) had turned the volume down quite low.

Mystery was asleep in the chair. He’d woken long enough to scarf down an enormous meal sometime in the early morning hours and gone back to sleep. Vivi had just smiled fondly at him and said again that he had worn himself out and would probably sleep the rest of the day away.  
  
Arthur smiled as Vivi waved him to sit in front of her. She took the towel from him and took over the task of carefully making sure every drop of water was gone. He’d only made the mistake of putting his arm on right after getting out of the shower once. It had been shocking, to say the least.

Lewis suddenly made a startled sound. “Zippi, stop!” He commanded, dropping the comb and grabbing for the remote. Arthut and Vivi turned their attention to the tv as he turned the volume up. “— mak reporting on the Akuma attack at the Arc de Triomphe. Ladybug and Chat— LOOK OUT!”

Rubble filled the screen, huge chunks of stone tumbling down around the hapless reporter and her cameraman. There was a pained scream. The camera janked sideways and the image blurred, finally clearing to show a cockeyed view of the pavement. “Gerard, get up, we need to move!” The reporter’s voice cajoled from offscreen.  
  
“I— I can’t. I think my leg is broken!” The responding voice was strained with pain.

The camera was jolted again. “Son of a—” the reporter hissed. “Okay, okay. You stay put here and—” 

“Give me my camera back. I can still film.” The camera jerked again before focusing shakily on the reporter’s dust-streaked face and worried eyes.

By now Arthur had attached his arm and was throwing his clothes on as fast as he could. Vivi was already mostly dressed, kicking into her shoes and muttering angrily under her breath. 

“The akuma, calling themselves Big Boomer, has been leaving a trail of destruction all along the Champs-Élysées from near the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe.” The reporter continued, crouched near the cameraman, who panned the camera to show the swath of shattered buildings. “Ladybug and Chat Noir are keeping Big Boomer occupied, though they have yet to strike a decisive blow—”

Lewis had already dropped his human guise and waited by the balcony doors. Arthur trotted over to join them, blinking as Lewis shoved a metallic-looking gold and black mask made of spectral energy into his hands. “I don’t want anyone seeing your faces.”

He was just as quick in passing a second mask to Vivi, stylized in silver, white and ice-blue. She made a delighted sound and put it on at once, throwing her arms around Lewis’s neck. He tucked his arm around her and held out his other arm for Arthur. Zippi darted over and tucked himself into the collar of Arthur’s vest.

Arthur wrapped his arm around Lewis’s waist and let Lewis lift them both from the balcony, the reporter still talking on the tv behind them.

“—deserve hazard pay for this—” the cameraman grumbled to the mostly empty room.

~~~~ 

It hadn’t taken all that long to deal with Big Boomer. Ladybug’s lucky charm had been a large wrench and with the addition of a nearby fire hydrant and Vivi’s ice powers, he had been frozen in place long enough for Lewis to snag the stopwatch around his neck and toss it to Chat to destroy. Arthur had been on crowd control, herding civilians out of the way and helping the injured cameraman out of the range of further injury.

Ladybug’s Miraculous cure swept over the area, repairing the destroyed buildings and swirling around the cameraman’s leg. He tested it after the ladybug swarm had gone, cautiously resting his full weight on it after a moment. “It’s better, thanks.” He waved off Arthur’s hand, grabbing for his camera. “Hey, are you one of those new heroes?” He motioned frantically at one of the people talking to Ladybug. “Did you come to help Ladybug save Paris? Will you do an interview? Ms. Chamak will be so hyped! Can I get your name?”

“Um—” Arthur almost flinched away from the deluge of questions. Vivi was more used to being the face of their investigations, the one who did most of the talking to clients and the occasional police interview after a case. But he forced himself out of his almost instinctual reaction and smiled for the cameraman. “No, thank you, on the interview. Maybe some other time.”

The cameraman looked slightly disgruntled. “Not even a couple of questions? You haven’t even told people your names!”

Arthur reached up and fingered the edge of his mask. A wicked smirk curved his lips as he saw Lewis heading in his direction, probably to rescue him from the media attention. “You can call me  _Kamen_  Sense.”

Lewis stopped dead in his tracks, spectral eyes blown wide. For a long moment he did not move.

Arthur deliberately winked at him. 

That did it. Lewis doubled over, laughing so hard he lost control of his voice and that strange spectral echo shadowed his delighted laughter. 

His ghostly laughter sent a visible shiver up the cameraman’s spine and he turned slightly to gape at Lewis, convulsed in helpless mirth.

“Did you say your name was common sense?” The voice at his elbow startled Arthur and he jerked around to stare at the curly-haired girl beside him. After a moment his brain connected and recognized her as the one he had saved at the museum and Marinette’s friend, Alya.

Another whoop of laughter escaped Lewis, and Arthur grinned. “Kamen,” he corrected, stressing the slight difference in pronunciation. “It means ‘mask’ in Japanese.”  
  
“Is that supposed to be a pun?” She squinted at him suspiciously. “I should introduce you to my friend Adrien. He’d love you.”

“Speaking of common sense, though, how bout you exercise some, and stay out of danger?” Arthur fixed her with a stern look. “You could be hurt. Again.”  
  
“I’m a reporter,” she retorted cheekly, “I go where the story is.”

“And the life threatening injuries,” the cameraman muttered, trying again to flag down the woman, who had turned her attention to Chat Noir. Arthur took the opportunity to head over to Lewis’s side. Despite his lack of a need to breathe, he was still wheezing from the fit of laughter. “You okay there, big guy? Didn’t think it was that funny.”

Lewis looked up, flickers of pink flame at the corners of his eye sockets attesting to just how hard he’d been laughing. “You—” he started, but shook his head, another spate of laughter escaping him.

Arthur chuckled and patted his arm. “If you can pull yourself together, shall we get out of here before those reporters descend on us too?”

That sobered Lewis quickly and he nodded.

Arthur tipped his head toward a nearby alley. “You grab Vi. I’ll meet you over there.”

With a nod, Lewis drifted towards Vivi, who was talking with Ladybug now that the reporter had focused her questions on Chat Noir.

Arthur slipped away quietly. Vivi and Lewis were more about showmanship, but Arthur preferred to stay away from the spotlight when possible. 

It didn’t take long for Lewis and Vivi to join him, and after making sure there were no prying eyes, Lewis lifted them both for the flight back to their hotel.

Back in the safe haven of their room, Arthur pulled off the mask and weighed it in one hand, staring down at the stylized face. It was gold, black, and silver, swirls that bore a strong resemblance to interlocking gears arcing away from the blank eyeholes and down the cheeks. The ends curved down where his cheeks would be, leaving his mouth bare and coming together to a gold-trimmed point on his chin, covering his goatee. Set directly above the brow of the mask was a stylized sunburst, mostly in gold but with a silver crescent overlaying the right side.

He looked up from it to the one Vivi still wore. Hers was asymmetrical, curving down in a crescent over the left side of her face, etched silver with blue and white swirls, like stylized clouds, that formed the eye and swept out across the bridge of her nose to cover her right eye. It curved up just under her lower lip, coming to a point on her right cheek. Suspended from the right eyehole, like a golden teardrop, was a tiny replica of the sunburst on his own mask.

The symbolism was not lost on him and he turned an eye on his husband, eyebrow climbing up. “Really?”  
  


Lewis, back in his human guise, ducked his head and scratched sheepishly at the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want this Hawkmoth character to be able to identify you. Your safety depends on anonymity.”  
  
Arthur snorted and set the mask aside, “You big sap. Do you think I can’t see what those mean?” He flicked his mechanical hand first at the discarded mask and then at the one Vivi was taking off. “You are such a dramatic.” He stepped close enough to  reach up and slide his arms around Lewis’s neck. Lewis’s arms automatically went around, holding him flush against his body. “The sun and moon, huh?” His voice lilted teasingly.

Lewis sagged a little and pressed his forehead against Arthur’s, his energy tickling like static over Arthur’s skin. “You are, you know,” he spoke softly, lips turning up in a sweet smile. “You and Vivi are the lights in my existence. Without you, I’d still be lost in the dark.”

Arthur’s eyes prickled but he managed a laugh that wasn’t too watery. “Okay, but in that case, even though the colors fit her better, you’d have been better calling her the sun. I’m a pale reflection—”

“Hey, none of that!” Vivi squeezed herself under Lewis’s arm until she was pressed against them in the embrace.

Arthur huffed at her but dropped one arm to slide around her shoulders.

“Vivi’s right. None of it. You are the one who wouldn’t stop searching. You are the one who led me back out of the dark. Vivi’s the light in the darkest hours, but you’re the warmth of the sun.” Lewis’s voice trembled, wavering between spectral and human. “And both of you are my light.”

“You’re a sap,” Vivi sniffled. “But you’re our sap.”

Arthur could only nod agreement, his throat too thick for words.

~~~~

Later that evening, Ladybug and Chat Noir turned up for the training session that had gotten cut short the other evening. This time, with four sets of eyes leveled expectantly at him, Arthur announced he would take a walk, promising he would be back in an hour. With Zippi tucked into what had become his favorite hiding place in the collar of Arthur’s vest, he headed out. Wandering down a quaint street filled with shops, he browsed windows, stopping once or twice to pick out small tokens he was sure Vivi and Lewis would like. At a tiny Asian grocery, he found a bag of dried bonito flakes and another of dried squid. Glancing sideways at his passenger, he bought both and headed back for the small park where they had met the kids last time.

He settled in an out of the way spot and opened the bag, chuckling under his breath at the squeak of joy Zippi made when he passed the kwami the first bite of the squid. Chewing on a piece of his own, he couldn’t help a laugh at Zippi, with his cheeks stuffed full, enthusiastically trying to fit the rest of the piece Arthur had given him into his mouth. 

“Well, at least you have good taste,” Arthur chuckled. “Wish there was a place around here that made Surf’s Up Surprise. You’d love that, I bet.”

Cheeks bulging, Zippi looked up and made an inquiring sound.

Still chuckling, Arthur explained his favorite pizza to the kwami. Zippi’s bright eyes widened further with every word, until he launched himself into a dizzying spiral around Arthur’s head. “Want, want, want wantwant _want!!”_  he caroled. Landing on Arthur’s head he tugged pawfuls of hair. “You  _have_  to let me try that!”

“If we weren’t over five thousand miles away from the only place I know that makes it, I would.” Arthur reached up to detach Zippi from his hair. “Lewis make a pretty good version of it, if I beg him to, but, well, we’re not home…” He rolled his shoulder in a shrug and opened the bag of bonito shavings to let Zippi investigate. “And right now, we can’t leave Paris. And Fu…” he hesitated. “Even if we could go, I’m not sure he’d let me take you there.”

Zippi, with his mouth full of the fish shavings, looked up. He deliberately swallowed before speaking, high-pitched voice solemn. “You’re my bearer. I knew you the moment you touched my miraculous. He can’t separate us, because I’d find you again. And again and again, if I had to.” Zippi stuffed another mouthful of the fish in his cheeks. “So _there.”_

Arthur sighed. “Zip, I wish the world worked the way you believe it does.”  
  
“Oh, it does.” Zippi smiled, and honestly, Arthur thought it was a little blood-chilling. “Kwami are elemental forces of the universe, remember. We let ourselves be bound to the miraculous stones, because we like being able to interact with and help you.” He made a soft chirruping-sound that was at odds with the serious look, “If I were really determined, there’s no force he could level to keep me from finding you.”  
  
“Besides—”He laughed, the heaviness in the air fading like shadows in the sun. “Plagg and Tikki might be the oldest, but I’m the cleverest!”

Arthur shook his head, chasing away the last of the shadows. “What exactly am I going to do with you?”

Zippi stuffed more fish in his mouth. “What you’re supposed to! Use my miraculous! Be the hero you can be. It’s easy and so much fun! Together, we can jump and run anywhere. No walls to hold us!” He left the bag of flaked fish and whirled in the air. “You should try it! Please, please, please? I’m sure you’ll love it!”

His enthusiasm drew a chuckle out of Arthur. “Maybe.”

After he was sure a little more than an hour had passed, Arthur packed up the mostly decimated remains of the seafood and whistling, headed back to the hotel. He tapped softly on the door, just in case they weren’t done. Vivi opened it, and grinning, let him in. “They finished a bit ago,” she said softly. “But Mystery woke up and is being interrogated by Adrien.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

Arthur dropped a kiss on her upturned lips and slid past her into the room. Marinette was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, Tikki resting in her cupped hands and munching on a cookie almost as big as she was. Marinette was a little pale, but looked otherwise unscathed. Plagg was perched on her shoulder, holding on to a wedge of cheese, but not eating it. His ears were back and his tail lashing in irritation.

Seated on the floor in front of Mystery, Adrien looked like he’d just won the lottery, asking question after question about japanese creatures in general and kitsune in particular. 

Mystery was trying to answer the rapid-fire questions, but looked more than a little lost. His ears were canted sideways and he shot a pleading look at Vivi.

She snorted laughter, sliding one arm around Arthur’s waist. “Don’t look at me for rescue, bucko. Your princess didn’t need it, after all.” She stuck her tongue out at the dog.

While she was delighting in teasing Mystery, Arthur glanced down at Plagg. “What’s got your fur all ruffled?”

Zippi stuck his head out of Arthur’s collar. “He doesn’t like dogs.”

Plagg hissed, but didn’t go after Zippi. “Shut it, fuzz for brains. Anyway, that’s not a dog. It’s even worse than that.”

“Oh?” Arthur inquired, smiling as Lewis came through the door, a bakery box in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.

“It’s a fox,” Plagg said sourly. “Foxes are just dogs trying too hard to be cats.”

Arthur stifled laughter as Plagg’s tail fluffed up.

“Excuse you!” Mystery yipped, ruff bristling. “Says a kwami pretending to be a cat!”

“Don’t make me separate you,” Vivi threatened.

Lewis passed pastries and bottled juices to the two teens. “Eat those. You may not think it does, but fighting metally like you were doing drains your reserves as much as actual physical combat would.”

Adrien didn’t hesitate, gulping down half the juice in one go, before stuffing a half a pastry in his mouth, quickly scarfing it to ask Mystery, “So why exactly are you pretending to be a dog? I mean, with powers like yours— You could go anywhere, do anything; not be bound by— by leash laws or cages or… or anything!”

Mystery flattened his ruff. “I— I think you’re perhaps letting your own— biases, shall we say— color that question.”

Plagg snorted. “You have no idea.”

Mystery shot the kwami a look, before turning his attention back to Adrien. “It’s not a matter of being bound, child. Rest assured, I am held by nothing I do not choose. No leash can hold me, no kennel could cage me. The only things I am chained to are those I choose to be tied to,” He looked to Lewis, Arthur and Vivi, and it seemed his eyes lingered on Vivi longest. “And if I chose not to be bound at all, well, it would be quite the lonely existence.” He rose to his feet and padded over to put his forepaws on Adrien’s lap and butt his head into Adrien’s chest. “You choose the bonds and ties that hold you.”

His grin turned cheeky and suddenly in Adrien’s lap, there was no longer a dog but a black, white and red cat that primly licked one paw. “As you see, even my form is nothing I am bound too.”

Plagg hissed and streaked over to perch on Adrien’s shoulder, growling at the not-cat in his lap. “Mine!” he hissed, tail a bottle-brush. “Get your own!”

Something softened in Adrien’s green eyes and he reached up to scratch behind Plagg’s ear. “Silly. Don’t get in a  _cat_ fight over me.”

Plagg leaned into his hand, but didn’t lessen his glare at Mystery. 

With a saucy flick of his black tail, Mystery stepped out of Adrien’s lap and strolled over to Arthur, placing both forepaws on his pant-leg until Arthur bent and picked him up. “And there’s one of your bonds. Does it tie you down?” he asked from his new perch in Arthur’s arm.

Adrien relaxed minutely. “No. No it doesn’t.” Marinette reached over and patted his arm. He rested his hand over hers and relaxed even more. He smiled at Mystery. “I get it.”

“Good.” Mystery nodded. “Remember that in the future. No bonds can keep you but the ones you choose to allow.”

Arthur set Mystery down In Vivi’s lap and took off his vest, leaving Zippi on the bed with the remains of his fish snacks. He perched on the arm of Vivi’s chair and slid his arm around her shoulders. “He has a good idea every now and again.”

Mystery, shifting back to his dog form, huffed up at him. “Every now and then? I—”

“You ran here from Texas, doofus,” Vivi chided. “That is hardly a ‘good’ idea.”

“It seemed like one at the time,” Mystery grumbled, curling up in a ball.

Artur glanced down at Mystery and then back at where he’d left his vest, and it’s occupant. There really hadn’t been a chance to introduce them. “Before we devolve into another argument, I think maybe we should introduce you to someone, Mystery.“ He reached down to caress Mystery’s pricked ears. “Being that’s he’s made it pretty clear he’s not going anywhere. Zippi?”

With a delighted chattering sound, Zippi abandoned the vest and darted over to hover over Arthur’s shoulder. “Hi hi hi. I’m Zikikii.”

Mystery’s red eyes narrowed on the little kwami before turning to fix on Arthur. “I feel like this is something I should have known about before.”

Vivi barked a laugh, poking Mystery with a finger. “There was hardly time to tell you when you decided a roadtrip where there were no roads was a good idea.”

Quickly she and Arthur gave him a rundown on what had happened, Arthur carefully leaving out how badly he’d been hurt in the incident. Mystery tended to get a little worried when he got injured, all things considered.

Zippi had perched on Arthur’s shoulder during the story and capped it with, “And he’s the holder of my miraculous now.” His tone made it clear that he didn’t care if Mystery objected.

Mystery’s hard gaze at Zippi held for a long moment that felt like an eternity. “You had better protect him, kwami, or I will use you as a squeaky toy.”

Zippi made an ugly sound, glaring down at Mystery. “I protect what’s mine.”

“Hey!” The harsh bark of Arthur’s voice made both Mystery and Zippi freeze, turning their attention to the object of their contention. Arthur picked Zippi off his shoulder and left him hanging in the air, turning so he could face both of them squarely. His thin face was set in hard, determined lines. “Boundaries, boys. Remember that I have them. I agreed to being friends, Zippi. That means I don’t belong to you. I belong to no one except myself. Not even Vivi and Lewis. I married them, I didn’t give up myself to them, so it would do you well to remember that.” 

He focused on Mystery. “We’re friends, Mystery, and I know you consider me part of your family, but that doesn’t give you sole responsibility for my decisions and safety.” He gestured sharply with his metal arm. “You tend to make bad decisions when you get scared, as if running all the way across the ocean to get here wasn’t proof enough. We’re family, Mystery. That means you can’t lose my affection. I’m still here, bud, and still your friend.”

Mystery whined softly and bracing his forepaws on Vivi’s arm, stretched his head out toward Arthur. “Sorry.” His voice was so low as to barely be audible.

Tension drained from Arhur’s frame and he stepped close and dropped his hand to caress Mystery’s head.

Zippi hung in the air, his eyes stricken.

Arthur sighed and held out his hand toward the kwami. “That doesn’t mean we’re not friends, Zikikii. It just means I won’t let you two get possessive, okay? I have problems with anyone thinking they can control me. Hawkmoth got a headache trying.” His smile was weak and lopsided.

It was enough for Zippi, who darted over to cling to his shirt.

Arthur sighed again and traced a finger over the stripes on Zippi’s head. “We’re okay,” he breathed. “Just remember that the next time, deal?”

Zippi nodded, still clinging tightly to Arthur’s shirt. “I won’t forget again.”

Vivi caught his eye and glanced significantly at his discarded vest and back to Zippi, who was merely hanging on to Arthur, quietly. Her eyes cut to Marinette and Adrien and the two kwami that accompanied them, Plagg was studiously smoothing his ruffled fur, but Arthur caught the glint of one leaf-green eye. Tikki wasn’t even trying to hide her concern.

Arthur bit his bottom lip. He really wasn’t entirely on board with the whole miraculous bearer thing, but right now, his concerns on the matter paled next to Zippi’s obvious distress. “So— um, you want to try the thing—?”

“Thing?” Zippi echoed.

“The magical moon make-up schtick? The what-do-you-call-it, transformation bit?”

Zippi’s huge blue eyes went even rounder, and a wordless squeal escaped. “Really? Really really you mean it?” He practically vibrated in place.

"Yeah. Might as well give it a go.” Arthur was sure his smile looked a little forced, but he didn’t think Zippi would notice. “So how do we do this? Anything I have to do?”

“You have to put my miraculous back on and say the words ‘Zikikii Scamper’, and that should do it.” Zippi twirled excitedly.

“If you say so.” Arthur’s misgivings were clear in his tone but he went to fetch his vest and put it back on. He glanced at Adrien and Marinette, giving them a lopsided smile. “I’m gonna trust you two to keep me from doing anything too dumb.”

Marinette smiled at him. “We will, but I don’t think you will. Adrien and I are more reckless than you.”

Arthur took a deep breath. “Zikikii Scamper.”

The small kwami made a thrilled noise, bouncing before being sucked into the badge. 

Arthur felt a wild rush of power go through him. Strengthening him; making his every sense sharper.  His left arm reached up for the brooch.

_No! I wasn’t thinking of moving my arm! No **wrong—**   GETOUTGETOUT  **GET OUT!!!!**_

Zippi was suddenly flung from his miraculous, hitting the pillows on the bed faster than he was comfortable with. “Arthur, what—” The little kwami’s words cut off as he saw his bearer.

Arthur was white as chalk, his eyes wide and terrified. No sound escaped him, but his mouth was twisted in a silent agonized scream. He’d flung himself backward, away from where he’d been standing, and he was clawing frantically at his robotic arm. He probably would have hurt himself if Vivi hadn’t lunged forward to detach it while Lewis grabbed and held him tight. 

The moment it was off, Arthur collapsed, the tension in his frame gone. Lewis followed him to the floor, still cradling him tightly. Vivi barely had time to grab the wastepaper basket before everything Arthur ate that day came up.

Marinette was pale enough to have been Arthur’s twin, but she gathered her wits and headed for the bathroom to wet a washcloth, her lips pressed so tight they were white.

“My arm….it moved…I didn’t move it— but it  _moved.”_ Arthur sobbed, shaking so hard his teeth were rattling.

Vivi, her expression grim, accepted the washcloth from Marinette’s trembling hand and wiped Arthur’s pale, sweating face with it, her motions slow and careful.

Marinette retreated and clung to Adrien’s hand so tightly her knuckles were white.

“It’s okay, Artie,” Lewis soothed, running his hand through Arthur’s hair. “We’re here. You’re okay. No one got hurt, I promise.”

Zippi shrunk into the pillows, shaken. That wasn’t true at all. Arthur had gotten hurt. This wasn’t humility or apprehension. This was something very wrong. Something he didn’t even know if Tikki could fix. He shot a pleading look at her.

Wide-eyed, she shook her head. Her creation magic could heal and work miracles, but this was a whole different level of trauma.

For a long, breathless span of time, there was no other sound in the room beside Arthur’s shaking, sobbing breath and the soft murmurs of Lewis and Vivi as they worked to soothe him.

Marinette could only cling to Adrien’s hand. What had Arthur gone through? She thought she had at least somewhat understood when Piano had possessed her, but it was very clear Arthur’s trauma ran far, far deeper than she had even guessed at.

Fur brushed against her legs and she jumped, a startled squeak escaping her lips. To her surprise, it was Mystery. She’d have thought he’d have joined in the soothing after the confrontation with Zippi, but instead he was pressed against her and Adrien’s legs, jerking his head silently towards the still-open balcony doors.

Quietly, they followed him outside, silent kwami trailing after them. Zippi cast one last despairing look at Arthur and followed too. It was his fault that Arthur was so scared and he didn’t dare try to help calm him.

Mystery nudged the door shut behind him and returned to where Adrien and Marinette stood together, feeling altogether like lost ducklings. “It’s best if I am not there, either,” he said softly, twining around their legs again. “As much as I want to offer comfort, in this panicked state, he will not see it as comfort, only another level of hurt.”  
  


“C-can I ask you what happened?” Marinette whispered, her throat tight. She shivered, and not entirely from the cool spring night.

Mystery sighed, lowering his head, ears flattened against his fur. “I suppose it’s fair. What do you know?”

“Just that he was possessed once.” Adrien murmured, moving to press against Marinette’s side.

“And that there were fatal consequences,” Marinette’s voice was small, frightened.

“There was a cavern, rumored to be haunted, and we went there to investigate. There was a malevolent spirit there, something steeped in long years of blood and hatred. I sensed it, but was too late to stop it from seizing on the most vulnerable of us. It took him over, slowly, forcing his hand— quite literally. Taking control of his arm first, it sought more blood to strengthen it, by using that hand to—”

“To kill someone.” Plagg said suddenly. He tapped the side of his head with a tiny paw. “I could almost sense something, but it was muddled, I thought by the presence of the ghost. Death and decay are a part of destruction.”

Mystery nodded ponderously. “You have the right of it. Arthur was an unwilling, terrified participant in the murder— of his own best friend.”

Suddenly, it all clicked— a possession, an unwilling murder, and a ghost— and Marinette’s knees gave out. She sagged against Adrien. “Lewis! The spirit— it made him kill Lewis.”

Mystery’s head lowered even further. “Clever girl. Yes. With that death, the spirit would have had enough strength to completely subsume Arthur’s own spirit and leave the cave in his body, to wreak more death and despair elsewhere. To prevent it, it became necessary to remove the point of infection— his arm.” Mystery whined softly, looking away from them. “The possession itself, incomplete as it was, damaged his memory of the events, but he remembers well enough the feel of a body that answered to another’s will. It is a wound in his psyche that will not heal.” 

Marinette made a soft sound. She could still hear Arthur’s ragged gasps and the soft voices of his spouses breathing reassurances. Every instinct she had was screaming that he needed help, and it was clear she was not the only one. Tikki flitted back towards the door. 

“Don’t.” The toneless words came from Zippi, huddled in the darkest corner of the balcony. “Leave him be. He’s scared, scared enough to throw me out mid-transformation. That’s not something— something words can fix.”

Tikki turned away from the door and went to Zippi’s side. “Zikikii—”

“I hurt him.” He turned his eyes up to her, his expression one of misery. “I hurt my own bearer. I’m not supposed to do that.”

Tikki sent a look back at the rest of them before pressing against the small brown kwami. “You didn’t hurt him—”

He barked a bitter sounding laugh, pointing back toward the room. “Tell me I didn’t.”

“You didn’t,” Plagg heaved a put-upon sigh, flitting over to join them. His bright green eyes caught the dim light from the streetlights below and flashed in the darkness. “What hurt him was his own mind. Yeah, you triggered it, by accident, but it’s his own mind doing the hurting.” At Zippi’s disbelieving look, Plagg rolled his eyes. “You think I haven’t seen this before? Tch, I’m the embodiment of destruction. Not— not all of my bearers were strong enough to deal with that.”

“Stinky—” Tikki’s voice was soft.

Plagg shrugged, still talking to Zippi. “He’s hurting, yeah, but it’s not you doing that hurt, not like it was me. I was the reason some of my ki— bearers were— not alright. There were times when Tikki and I hadn’t been active at the same time. She’s my balance, the exact opposite of me. Without her to mitigate what they had done— well—” Plagg looked away. “Just be glad your bearer’s still alive, Zippi. It doesn’t always work that way.”

Adrien came over and scooped Plagg out of the air, cuddling him close. Normally the feline kwami protested such gestures of affection (but accepted them anyway), but this time he leaned into Adrien’s hands. “You won’t lose me, Plagg.”

A rough purr vibrated Plagg’s whole form. “I know, kitten. I know.”

At that moment, Vivi stuck her head out the balcony doors. “You can come back inside now, it’s too cold to lurk out here. Arthur’s calmed down now, for the most part.”

Still holding Plagg tight, Adrien looked up to meet her eyes. “Are you sure? He— he might not want us here.”

Vivi puffed her lips out in a sigh. “He does. He wants you to see he’s— well, not okay, but getting there.” She reached out to Zippi, still hiding in the shadows. “You too, Zippi. He wants to see you especially.”

Zippi’s look was desperately hopeful. “He does—?” The hope in his voice was heartbreaking.

Vivi scooped him up, kissing the top of his head. “Yes. I promise, he does.”

Cautiously, they trailed her back into the hotel room, still uncertain of their reception, in spite of her words.

Arthur had been settled in the center of the huge bed, his back propped up against a pile of pillows. He looked too small, and pale enough that the pillows behind him had more color, except for the bruised-looking bags under his eyes. His arm was still where it had been discarded and his sleeve pulled down to hide the metal port where it attached. He offered a wan smile. “Sorry, guys. Wish you hadn’t had to see that.”

“Are you—?” Marinette cut herself off. He didn’t look, in any way, okay.

Arthur’s smile was a trace more real. “Not yet, but trying to get there.”

“Um— Mystery told us what happened. Don’t be mad at him please. We were worried.” Marinette rushed to say.

“Scared, you mean. No. I’m not mad at him. I’m still just sorry you had to see me like that.”

Adrien shook his head. “Don’t be. Yeah it was scary, but we understand what happened— now,” He glanced significantly down at Mystery.

Arthur huffed, not quite a laugh but close enough. He looked at Zippi, huddled miserably in Vivi’s cupped hands. “Sorry, Zippi, if I hurt you when I freaked out. I didn’t mean to scare you either.” He stretched his only hand out toward the kwami. Marinette could see how badly it was shaking.

Zippi peered over Vivi’s fingertips. “You— you didn’t hurt me,” his voice was small and uncertain. “I hurt you. I didn’t mean to!”

Arthur crooked one finger in a beckoning gesture. “C’mere, Zip. You didn’t hurt me. Something else did, a while ago, and it was the memory of that freaking me out. Not you.”

Zippi left Vivi’s hands and darted to the bed. He slowed as he reached Arthur and crept forward slowly to cuddle in his outstretched hand.

Arthur lifted his hand to bring Zippi close enough to nuzzle his nose against the top of the kwami’s head. “Still friends?” Arthur asked softly.

Zippi nodded rapidly. “Friends,” he confirmed. “I won’t ask you to do that anymore, promise.”

Arthur smiled. “I know.”

Lewis came out of the bathroom, a cell phone propped against his ear, and holding a hot water bottle that he gently settled against the shoulder of Arthur’s missing arm, dropping a kiss on Arthur’s brow as he did.

Arthur made a face. “Please tell me you’re not—”

“Do you have any idea what time it is, Kingsmen?” The rich feminine voice was loud enough to be heard in the quiet of the room, carrying a clear note of annoyance.

“You did,” Arthur groaned.

“Sorry, Dr. Quyn. It’s Lewis. I forgot the time difference “

“Lewis.” Dr. Quyn’s voice sharpened. “What happened? Is Arthur alright?”

“Not really,” Lewis said at the same time as Arthur raised his voice to say “Yes!”

"Cut that bullshit, Kingsmen. Your husband wouldn’t be calling me at ass o'clock in the morning if something weren’t wrong.”

Lewis yelped. “Dr. Quyn, language!”

“It’s aforementioned ass o'clock in the morning, so I am exempt from proper language. Now, being that you have woken me from my well-deserved slumber, what’s wrong?”

Arthur clamped his lips shut, expression mulish. 

Lewis just sighed, turning the phone on speaker. “Something triggered a grand mal panic attack. Bad enough that he tried to claw his prosthetic off. He— well, it was a very, very bad moment. It took a while to talk him down, and well, he doesn’t look good either.”

Lewis turned the phone in his hand. The sudden light of the flash made them all jump. He tapped a few buttons, his mouth set in a thin line.

“Lewis—” Arthur groaned. “Do not text her my picture!”

“Too late, Kingsmen. You look like shit. Tell me what happened to trigger you that badly. From the top.” There was no arguing with the command in her voice.

“My arm moved, but I wasn’t the one moving it.” Arthur wasn’t arguing, precisely, but he was not going to make it easy.

“Hmmm—” Quyn’s tone was thoughtful. “That is a very good reason for a panic attack, given your history. But stonewalling me is a game for people much, much older than you. You might as well talk.”

Arthur looked helplessly at Marinette, Adrien and the three kwami before shaking his head and clamping his lips shut. “I can’t.” He drew his legs up, an almost instinctive attempt to hide.

“Arthur,” her voice softened and for the first time she called him by his given name. “You know who I am and what I am. Also the vows I have taken. Let me help you.”

“It’s not my secret to tell.”

Tikki left Marinette and flitted over to sit on Arthur’s upraised knees. Her gaze was steady. “I can’t help you. I don’t know how. My magic can do a lot of things, but not this. If she can, then let her.”

“I know that voice… Tikki?” Quyn’s voice was full of very real surprise.

“Ye—sss?” Tikki’s eyes zeroed in on the phone like she could see who was on the other end of it and she tilted her head to the side like a curious cat.

“I thought that was you. Kingsmen has gotten himself mixed up with kwamis now, eh? I don’t wonder why he’s being recalcitrant.” Quyn’s laugh was light and silvery, like the tinkle of windchimes. 

“Do I know you?” Tikki asked bluntly.

“Ah, sorry… I suppose it has been a while. When we first knew each other, I didn’t have a name, but you called me Dawn Fire. I go by Una now,” Quyn laughed again.

“Dawn Fire!” Tikki’s squeal of delight made Arthur flinch. She left his knee and spun gleefully in the air. “Is it really you? I thought… well, you vanished a long time ago!”  
  


“Reports of my vanishing were greatly exaggerated.”

“Doc, you know about kwami?” Arthur’s tone was high-pitched and more than a little unsteady.

“Arthur, breathe.” Quyn’s voice turned calming. “Vivi, if you’re there, help him with a count.”

Vivi was quick to obey, sitting on the bed. “Artie, love, you heard your doctor, Breathe with me. One, two, three, and out. Three, two, one and in.”

Slowly, Arthur’s ragged breathing eased to match hers.

“That’s good,” Quyn soothed. “Just keep that up until you’re steady again. I won’t pry for the moment.”

Arthur just nodded in time with Vivi’s counting and Lewis relayed that aloud.

“Arthur, I’d like you to take something to help you sleep tonight. Do you still have your prescriptions with you?” Quyn asked.

“He does,” Lewis affirmed. 

Arthur made a thin sound of negation that was ignored. “Good. I know he’s taking the lowest dose he thinks he can get away with, so I’d like you to see that he takes a full dose before he goes to sleep. That and a sleeping aid. He’ll need them, all things considered. He said you could soothe him out of nightmares, yes?”

“Yeah, I can.” Lewis agreed. 

“You’re on nightmare duty then. Tonight will probably be a bad one.”

Marinette could agree with that. She had a feeling none of them would be sleeping particularly well tonight. She knew she wouldn’t be. Her stomach was in knots and she could feel the tension in almost every muscle. Adrien looked almost as wired, nervous energy making him bounce on his heels.

“I’ll make sure they don’t trouble him tonight.” Lewis promised.

“Good. Tikki, we’ll catch up another time. My client needs me.” Quyn said. “Arthur, keep breathing with Vivi, okay? Let me know when you feel okay to talk. I need you to tell me how you are feeling, when you can.”

“On it.” Vivi said in a pause between counting. She had caught Arthur’s hand and, after resettling Zippi on Arthur’s shoulder, she lifted his hand and splayed it over her breastbone. Arthur sagged a little more, some of the tenseness of his muscles easing.

Feeling like she shouldn’t be here, Marinette caught Adrien’s eye and started easing toward the balcony. Teeth in her pants leg brought her up short. Mystery released the fabric. “Stay. You’ve all had a pretty unpleasant shock tonight. No one should be alone.”

Marinette shook her head. “I can’t. My parents trust me and staying out all night would break their trust. I hate having to lie to them so I can save the city as Ladybug already.”

Adrien shook his head. “My father won’t notice unless I’m not in bed when Nathalie comes to get me up for class, but— I don’t want to get you in trouble, Ladylove.”

Marinette bit her lip. She knew she should go home, but she had a feeling she’d wake up screaming at least once tonight. She’s already had more than her fair share of nightmares. Dreams of being unable to save people she loved, nightmares of Hawkmoth turning Paris into an apocalyptic hellscape in whatever mad scheme he had for using their miraculous, among the usual anxieties of mundane life.

“I— I don’t want to wake Mama and Papa with my nightmares again, but—” she canted her head toward the bed. “I don’t want him to suffer either.”

Mystery shook his head. “Lewis— all ghosts are beings of memory— I’m sure you’ve heard of ghosts that appear, endlessly repeating some moment of their life or death. Nightmares are memories of a kind too; distorted fragments of things we know, things we’ve seen. Lewis can shift those memories into pleasanter ones, and thus ease the grip of night terrors.” He gave them a canine grin, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. “Do you think he would want you to dream of what has happened tonight either?”

The thought of not suffering nightmares was appealing, but Marinette shook her head. “I don’t want to take his attention away from Arthur. He’s the one that suffered most.”

Lewis, who had passed the phone off to Arthur, now that he was a little calmer, glanced over. “I think Mystery has the right of it. If you don’t mind me messing with your dreams, that is?”

“Mind?” Plagg snorted. “If the kid wasn’t too embarrassed to say so, he’d thank you!”

“Plagg—” Adrien hissed. “Shut up!”

“Make me.”

“I still need to go home,” Marinette shook her head. “As much as the thought of no bad dreams sounds lovely, I can’t do that to my parents.” 

“With a little help from your kwami, I can make it so they won’t even know you’re gone.” Mystery said smugly.

Marinette’s eyes widened. That could be useful. “How?”

“Kitsune, remember?”

“Master of illusion,” Mystery and Adrien said in the same breath.

“I can make an illusion spell strong enough to touch, as long as there is someone to carry the spell. Tikki, if she agrees, could pretend to be you long enough to go home and to bed, thus making your parents believe you are there all night.”

“I could do that myself,” Marinette protested. 

“But she can get out easier, with less chance of being caught. You are rightfully tired after tonight’s training and could far too easily make a mistake.”

“But—”

Adrien caught her hand and simply held it, and her. She couldn’t pull away. “Milady, let him. I—” He clamped his lips shut and glanced away, a hint of red shading his cheeks.

“Do— do you want to stay here?” She found herself asking.

“He does. And so do you, honestly.” Arthur’s voice was still shaky, but he seemed more himself.  “Frankly, I’d feel better with all of us under one roof, at least for tonight. And you guys need to stop pretending today didn’t shake you up almost as much as it did me.”

“He can be taught,” came a laughing voice from the phone still held loosely in his hand. 

Vivi snickered and kissed Arthur on the forehead. “Now you know what you sound like, love, when you act like you’re fine even when you aren’t.”

Arthur wrinkled his nose at her. “Shush.”

“Can’t make me.”

“If that’s all settled,” Mystery broke in. “Tikki, are you willing to play Marinette for a bit?”

“Marinette?” Tikki asked.

Marinette bit her bottom lip. “Only if you’re okay with it, Tikki.”

“Normally, I wouldn’t be, but these are hardly normal circumstances. More than anything, except getting Nooroo back and defeating Hawkmoth, I want you safe, in both body and mind.” Tikki glanced over at Lewis. “If he can help your nightmares, even for just one night, I consider it worth it.”

“Yeah.” Was Plagg’s contribution.

Marinette kissed Tikki on the forehead. “You are wonderful.”

Mystery settled himself in a corner of the room and transformed, becoming the huge multi-tailed creature of last night. He nodded at Marinette. “In front of me, if you please. I want to be sure to have every nuance right.”

Nervously, Marinette went to stand where he indicated. He nodded and used one paw to indicate she should turn around, so he could study her from every angle. Awkwardly, she obeyed.

He turned his attention to Tikki, hovering near Adrien. “Ready?”

Tikki nodded firmly. “Ready.” She floated closer to him.

Mystery’s tails rose up behind him, weaving sinuously in an ever changing pattern. He breathed out and from his muzzle came a cloud of gold magic, laced liberally with sparks of bright red. It swirled around Tikki, eclipsing her from sight. All his tails swept forward like a fan, and the mist blew away. Where Tikki had hovered was a perfect duplicate of Marinette down to the tiniest details.

Tikki looked down at herself, and poked her own arm with a pink-painted fingernail. “Oh, wow. This is new!” She giggled and turned to Marinette. “Now that I’m this size, there’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.” Tikki reached out and reeled Marinette into a firm hug, squeezing tightly for a moment. 

Marinette hesitated for only a second before hugging back, burying her face in Tikki’s shoulder.

Tikki kissed Marinette’s temple before releasing her. “Best hug ever!” She grinned and turned an impish smile on Plagg. The cat kwami yelped and tried to hide behind Adrien, but she caught him and cuddled him to her cheek. Plagg yowled, struggling to escape. Still giggling, Tikki kissed his forehead before letting him go.

Plagg darted back to Adrien, glaring daggers at Tikki. 

Marinette giggled softly herself, leaning her shoulder into Adrien’s. 

Some small measure of her usual happiness had come back into her eyes, and Adrien was glad of it. Any other night Adrien would have reacted with glee at the sight of two of his Ladylove, even knowing one was her kwami in disguise. Tonight though, he was just grateful for the extra level of comfort Tikki was providing. He only hoped he could provide as much tonight, when Tikki was away on her deception. He slipped his hand over Marinette’s and squeezed her fingers lightly. To his gratification, she returned the gesture, twining her fingers with his and leaning her head on his shoulder as Vivi let Tikki out and called down to housekeeping for more pillows and blankets

~~~~

Lewis woke them both in the pale light of dawn, so they could sneak back home before anyone knew they were missing. Thanks to him, neither had woken up with nightmares, and felt almost well-rested. They parted ways on the rooftop of the hotel, Marinette giving Adrien a quick, shy kiss, before transforming and leaping away and back to the bakery. Her parents were already up, of course, but she slipped in through the skylight unseen and began her morning routine, though far less hurried than normal. She padded downstairs to greet her surprised parents and was sent off to school with a box of fresh pastries to share with her friends.

After school she walked home with Alya, listening to Alya’s running commentary on the views her blog had gotten since the reveal of the ‘new heroes,’ and laughing at some of the ridiculous names people had already submitted on her poll.

They had just turned a corner when what sounded like the rumble of thunder made them look up, but the sky was cloudless and bright. They barely had time to exchange a confused glance when the earth beneath their feet jolted.

Marinette yipped and clung to Alya as the pavement bucked like a startled horse underfoot. All up and down the street, cracks opened in the sidewalk and pavement while windows rattled or shattered. It sounded like a low constant growl of thunder as the ground tried to shake itself to pieces. People staggered and fell, screaming and crying out in panic. “Wha—?”

Still holding onto Marinette, Alya dragged them both into the shelter of a doorway, tugging her down to her knees and hunching over her. “Earthquake! Stay down, Marinette!”

Marinette shank as dust and tiny chips of mortar showered down on them. It was several minutes before the shaking and heaving of the ground stopped. The rumble of the shaking abated, leaving only panicked cries and the shrieking of varied alarms. Marinette struggled to get her feet under her, but Alya hung on tightly. “Stay down,” she said urgently. “There might be aftershocks—!”

As if in punctuation, the ground heaved again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Pronunciation note: Quyn is pronounced like 'wine' so it's "kwine" with a soft k.


	9. A Disaster in the Making

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder: This was written pre-season three. It follows canon until about mid-season two, where it veers _wildly_ AU. As such, things that happened in season three are not compliant to the canon of this tale.

Renewed screams filled the air over the ceaseless grinding of stone. Marinette clung grimly to Alya as the earth shook itself apart again. The rumble of stone, the groans of overstressed metal and the shrieks of both people and alarms filled all her senses, a cacophony of destruction.

And then it was over, the groaning of the ground in pain subsiding into silence. The screams continued, but even those were tapering off. This time Alya did not stop her from rising to her feet. The ground felt unsteady under her, and it took her a moment to realize her legs were shaking with fear and adrenaline. “We— we’ve never had an earthquake like that here!”

Ayla shook her head. “They’re not normal for here. We lived through a few before we moved to Paris, but—” She gazed at the destruction, her hands clenched into fists. “I— I need to go. The twins are probably terrified. I don’t know if Nora will be able to calm them down.” She jumped a foot in the air with a squeal of fright as her phone warbled in her pocket. Fumbling, she pulled it out. “Mama! Are you okay?”

Marinette could just hear the reply. “I’m fine, love, the Hotel barely even trembled. But the zoo animals are in a panic and your father will likely be there all night. I need you to run home and check on Nora and the girls, please.” There was very real worry in her voice. “Nora’s not answering her phone.”

“I was just about to head there.” After saying goodbye to her mother, Alya stuffed her phone back in her pocket. “I gotta go, Marinette, sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Marinette patted her shoulder. “I need to go check on Mama and Papa at the bakery too. Be careful.”

“You too!”

Marinette darted away to find a place to transform. While she couldn’t be sure this was an Akuma attack, there were things she could do as Ladybug that she couldn’t as Marinette. Finding a place in an alley, she called her Mother’s cell phone.

It had barely rung before Sabine’s relieved voice answered. “Marinette! Are you okay?”

“Fine, Mama, really. Are you and Papa okay?”

“We are. A little shaken up and one of the display cases cracked, but nothing major. Your father is in the basement cutting off the gas just in case. Where are you?”

“With Alya,” Marinette assured her. “She’s worried about the twins and can’t get hold of Nora so she’s headed there.”

“Be careful, please. There could be more aftershocks and…”

“I will, Mama.”

~~~~

“Help me, please.” The cry was weak, but Ladybug heard it and turned on her heel. The street had suffered from the earthquake, parts of it rucked up like crumpled paper, and some parts sinking from subsidence. The plea came from near one of the cars that had slid sideways and sunk as the earth under it had done as well. She rushed over, to find a young man on the broken curb, obviously having fallen during the disturbance of the earth. He was half under the car, unable to free himself with the weight of the car pinning him in place.

Crouching by his side, Ladybug assessed the situation. “Hang on,” she soothed. “I’ll get you out of there.”

His nod was trusting. Ladybug rose to her feet and went to the nearest lamppost, testing its stability. Satisfied that it would hold, she looped the string of her yoyo over it and, mentally glad that she had inherited her mother’s slim build, squirmed as much of her upper body under the car until she could touch the pinned man. She pressed her yoyo into his hand. “When I come back around to your side, pass this back to me.”

“Okay.”

Eeling back out, she returned to his side, where he painfully worked the arm with the yoyo out from under the car. Pinned as he was, he couldn’t get it free of the curb entirely, but she was able to reach it. With one last reassuring smile, she left him to loop the yoyo string carefully around the post of the light. Taking a deep breath, she threw her weight against it. It moved, and encouraged, she redoubled her efforts.

With a groan of overstressed metal, the car shifted. She was about to try and reach a broken fence to anchor her string when a familiar voice called out, “Hold it steady, Milady. I’ve got him.”

Relieved, she maintained tension on the string until Chat’s cheerful voice assured her that he had gotten the victim free. Breathing a relieved sigh, she let go the tension on the string and tried to massage the ache in her fingers away. Retracting the yoyo, she hurried to Chat’s side. He had already gotten the man’s cell phone out and was calling emergency services.

She leaned close enough to listen, hearing the operator’s assurances that they would have an ambulance dispatched very soon. He also confided that while damages were extensive, casualties from the shake had been surprisingly light.

Chat shook his head, but only thanked the dispatcher and gave the phone back to the injured man so he could tell the dispatcher about his injuries.

When they were out of earshot of the injured man, Ladybug put a hand on Chat’s bicep. “What is it?”

He cocked his head to the left. “I came from that way. Three streets over, there’s zero damage. The closer I came this way, the more damage there is.” He pointed up the street. “When I was vaulting this way, I could see a lot of the damage, It gets worse, that direction.”

Ladybug nodded. “Then that’s the way we go.”

Chat slipped an arm around her waist and vaulted them both up to the top of the nearest tall building, pointing at the swatch of destruction. “Pretty sure that’s not normal for an earthquake, Milady.”

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Ladybug shook her head grimly. From this high up, she could see a clear delineation, a line where on one side were damaged, listing buildings and plumes of smoke from fires, but on the other, nothing… no sign of damage at all. She tracked the line of destruction, noting Chat’s observations were right. Flinging her yoyo, she took off for the area where the destruction worsened. Chat was right on her heels.

They had barely gone two blocks when a voice frantically hailed them. A familiar one!

Nadja Chamak stood on a corner, a frightened Manon balanced on her hip and tucked tightly against her side. Nadja had only one shoe on, her stockings were in tatters, and her smart black skirt was ripped high up on her thigh, showing a bloody welt. One cheek was scraped badly and Manon was trying her best to hold a wad of tissue to her mother’s cheek while tears ran down her own.

Little Manon was powdered with dust and both her knees were scraped and bruised. Fat tears poured down her cheeks and she was biting her bottom lip as she struggled to staunch the blood seeping from her mother’s badly scratched cheek.

Ladybug dropped down to the pavement. “Ms. Chamak! Are you badly hurt?”

Nadja shook her head, earning a sniffle from Manon as fresh blood seeped when she moved. “Don’t worry about me! You have to get to the studio! It’s Gerard! My cameraman— he— he was arguing with one of the producers about all news crews needing additional hazard pay for Akuma attacks. They said no, that you always fixed things, and he got mad. He stormed away and I followed him as far as the bathroom door. I— I saw the butterfly go after him. He’s calling himself Disaster Caster now. He’s the one that caused the earthquake!”

Ladybug nodded. “Chat, get Ms. Chamak and Manon over to where the ambulance should be and get them taken care of. Then meet me at the studio.”

“Your wish is my command, Milady. Will you—” He hesitated, glancing at the reporter. “Will you call in reinforcements?”

She didn’t want to, not with the memory of last night clear in her mind, but she nodded. “We might need them. Ms. Chamak, I know you want to be on the scene, but you’re already hurt and Manon needs you, so please go with Chat.”

Nadja held her daughter tighter. “I’m not going to fight you on this one. Manon comes first.” She wobbled over to Chat, making it clear it was only pure will that had kept her on her feet so long and Chat slid his arm around her waist, preparing to vault back the way they had come.

Nadja hesitated and looked back at Ladybug. “Just help Gerard. It’s not his fault. He really was trying to help all of us.”

“I know.” Ladybug hastened to reassure. “We’ll help him, I promise.”

Nadja nodded and wrapped her free arm around Chat’s shoulders. He nodded at Ladybug and vaulted the three of them back the way they had come. The last thing she heard was his voice reassuring Manon that they’d get her mom fixed right up. Drawing a deep breath, she sent off a quick text to Vivi before heading for the studio at the center of the destruction.

The newly dubbed Disaster Caster was hard to miss. He stood perched on a massive spar of rebar that jutted a good ten feet above the buckled pavement, whatever he had been wearing before now transformed into a form-fitting suit of bright silver and black. His face was covered by a mirrored visor in an oddly-shaped helmet, one that seemed far larger than it should be, and he wore something on his back that resembled nothing so much as a backpack made of gleaming metal to match his suit.

He stared wordlessly down at a gaggle of battered studio executives huddled together in the ruins of the studio’s lobby, their sleek, high-end suits in ragged tatters. All of them were bloody and bruised, looking more like the losing end of a prizefight than high-powered television executives.

Ladybug landed silently on the roof of an only slightly lop-sided building, studying the situation. A soft thump on the roof behind her let her know her partner had made good time in returning to her side. “”What are we looking at, milady?”

“He’s got a group trapped in the rubble. He’s not making any move to hurt them any more than they already are, but I’m afraid that’ll only last so long. Especially if one of them says something to inflame his anger.” She reported quietly, watching for one of the hostages to do something to draw Disaster Caster’s wrath.

Suddenly, that mirrored visor turned their way. “And the main attraction has arrived,” said a mechanical sounding voice. “Going to save the day and fix everything, just like you always do? I rather think not.”

Suddenly the reason for the odd shape of his helmet became all too clear, as thin cracks opened in neat rows along the sides, a dozen spindly metal limbs folding out, and out, each one ending in a glassy looking bezel that it took her a moment to place. Lenses. Each of the metal arms ended in a tiny camera. The effect was rather disturbing, like a massive spider centered on that blank mirrored visor, perched where a human head should be.

Beside her, Chat briefly convulsed in a full-body shiver. “Okay, is it just me or are Hawkmoth’s Akumas getting creepier?”

He wasn’t wrong. Disaster Caster was like something out of a nightmare, far scarier looking than most Akuma. The camera arms whirred and clicked, stretching out further.

“Nevermind those who get hurt in your fights. No need, after all, not when you can wash the hurts away in a tide of ladybugs.” Disaster Caster said, the robotic voice never rising above a conversational monotone. “Maybe it’s time you suffer some of those hurts, see how they feel, and I’ll broadcast your suffering to the whole city.”

A darkly glowing butterfly symbol briefly obscured part of that mirrored visor. “I agree, Hawkmoth. I’ll take their miraculouses and let them understand the pain they inflict upon the citizens of Paris.” He lifted one hand, and a spidery arm reached from the backpack to deposit something in his palm.

“Oh, yes,” Ladybug could hear the sudden smile in Disaster Caster’s voice. “That will do nicely. I’ll  _flood_  the airwaves with your defeat.” He crushed whatever it was in his hand.

“We’re shaking, Chrome Cast,” Chat laughed. “Is that supposed to sca—”

His voice was drowned out by a wall of water roaring towards them. Cars, people, trees, bits of buildings were all swept up in the surging, frothing monster bearing down on where they stood. The wave was taller than the roof of their building, blocking out the Parisian skyline and throwing the whole area into murky green gloom.

Chat’s ears flattened and he grabbed Ladybug by the waist and extended his baton as far as it would go, aiming for the higher roof of the studio. He almost made it.

The water crashed against his baton, slamming it sideways. For a moment there was only the breathless sensation of falling. Then Ladybug’s yoyo snapped out and wrapped around one of the satellites on the roof and yanked them out of range of the maelstrom that surged below.

Ladybug’s breath was harsh in her throat and she was shaking when they landed. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the frothing waters below and the helpless bodies tumbling in it. “No…”

Chat’s hand caught her cheek and gently turned her to face him. “Focus, Milady. The sooner we defeat him, the sooner you can save everyone!”

She sucked in a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. “R-right.” She straightened up and searched for the Akuma. Several of those spidery metallic legs had extended from Disaster Caster’s backpack and held him motionless against the wall of a building, separated from their position by a wide swath of murky, tumbling water.

Chat crouched beside her on the edge of the building, glaring across at their opponent. “I’m going to bet the Akuma is in that backpack thing of his.”

“Not going to bet against you, kitty.” Ladybug frowned at the distance between them. “The question is how do we get close enough to find out?”

Chat gave her a sharp-toothed grin that was a pale shadow of his usual teasing one. “Up for a game of catball special?”

She turned her frown on Chat. “I’m not chucking you at him!”

“Better me than you, Milady.”

“Better neither of you when you know someone who can actually fly.” The voice came from behind them. Lewis hovered just above the roof they perched on, Vivi and Arthur held in either arm.

He alighted to let the two in his arms down.

Ladybug couldn’t help a critical look at Arthur. He looked haggard under the mask, but there was a set to his mouth that told her he’d never agree to sitting things out, not while his spouses were here.

Chat obviously wanted to ask if he was alright, but held his tongue at the look on Arthur’s face.

“He’s calling himself Disaster Caster,” Ladybug reported instead of the concerned words that wanted to escape. “It’s an accurate enough name, since he’s the one who caused the earthquake and—” her voice shook a little. “This.”

Vivi was already peering over the edge of the building at the Akumatized man. “Elemental manipulation?”

“I don’t know if I’d call it that,” Arthur put in, staying well clear of where his wife leaned precariously over the balustrade. “I’d hesitate to call any of Hawkmoth’s creations anything so normal.”

“Good point.” Vivi frowned down at Disaster Caster. “Those are cameras, is he filming?”

“Probably,” Chat joined her at the edge of the roof. “He was a news crew cameraman before he got Akumatized for wanting better pay for hazardous working conditions… aka during Akuma attacks.”

“That’s a fair request.” Lewis said. Like Arthur, he stayed back from the edge. “I take it his higher-ups didn’t agree.”

“RIght on the money.” Chat agreed. “We think the Akuma is in his backpack. It’s where he got whatever it was he used to create this flood.”

There was a suggestion of a smile in Lewis’s voice. “It’s probably not fireproof.” He held up one bone-plated hand, wreathed in purple flames.

“Easy there, big guy,” Arthur held up his metal hand. “Hawkmoth has seen your fire, so there’s every chance it will be. Even if it’s not fireproof, look at what he’s done already. No shortage of water to damp the fire.”

“Heads up!” Vivi called. “He’s on the move!”

Ladybug joined Vivi and Chat at the railing. Disaster Caster was spidering up the side of the building across from them, those thin metal legs from his backpack finding purchase easily. He lifted a hand to his visor and all at once, the lenses at the end of each limb of his helmet dropped loose, tumbling toward the frothing water below. Before they reached it, though, each suddenly sprouted a pair of dragonfly-like wings, lifting them high above the buildings. Two of them zeroed in on the roof where they stood, hovering above them like bizarre metallic insects.

“There you are.”

They backed away from the edge, keeping their eyes on the little cameras.

“”No getting away from being broadcast to all of Paris, Ladybug. They don’t want to miss this. It’ll be a  _hail_ of a bad time for you, though.”

On cue, clouds filled the sky, rumbling and malignant. Coin-sized bits of ice began to rain down on them.

“Really?” Chat asked, propping one hand on his hip and grinning ferally up at one of the cameras. “Puns are my department.”

“Not the time, kitty!” Ladybug chided.

As if in response, the chunks of ice kept getting larger, hitting hard enough to bounce and leave dents in the roof.  Lewis flung up a shield of flames, shrouding them in hissing steam as the hailstones met the fire.

Vivi chortled evilly, stepping out of the shelter of the flames. “You really are a disaster, aren’t you? Giving a master of ice, ammunition.” She held up both hands, palms upward. “To use against you…”

Ladybug watched in awe as the falling ice chunks, now the size of softballs, stopped in midair.

Vivi, still smiling a dangerous smile, tipped her hands forward, pointing them down at the Akuma. “Sic ‘em!”

The ice streaked away from them, heading for Disaster Caster. Two pieces hit him before he got his wits about him and slapped at the side of his visor. Like a mirage, the roil of clouds and the hailstones vanished.

“Aww, doncha wanna play with me anymore? I’m hurt.”

“Hon, what have we said about antagonizing the bad guys?” Lewis chided.

“That I should do it more often?”

Chat stifled a laugh while Lewis rolled spectral eyes at Vivi’s antics.

“I do not want to fight you. It is Ladybug and Chat Noir who need to understand the suffering they cause to the citizens of Paris.” Disaster Caster, now perched on the rooftop opposite them, stared at them through the expressionless visor.

“Um, have you looked around lately, bucko?” Vivi retorted. “Your mental parasite over there is the one creating the suffering.”

Hawkmoth’s glowing mask occluded Disaster Caster’s visor for a moment. “If you would simply hand over your Miraculous, no one would have to suffer at all.”  Disaster Caster said after it had faded.

“Like anyone is going to buy that.” Vivi grinned, as fey an expression as Ladybug had ever seen. “And you pick on one of us and you get all of us coming to hand you your ass. Hear me, Hawkbutt?”

Her reply was Disaster Caster calling another object from his pack. He crushed it in his fist. “Let’s blow the slate clean, shall we?”

For a second, there was nothing, then an eerie sound split the air, one she couldn’t identify but  that instinctively set Ladybug’s teeth on edge.

Arthur was the first to react, shoving Ladybug and Chat Noir closer to Lewis. “Down!” Under his mask, his face was grim and bloodless. Vivi was right behind him, her lips pressed into a tight, thin line.

Lewis’s glowing eyes had narrowed to pinpricks and he put himself between them and the meager shelter of a doorway into the building below.  _“͜͜S̶̨t͏a̷̸̧y͟͞ ̵D̷̨̡ǫ̵w͘n̕!̨"͢_  Lewis growled, hands clenched into burning fists at his sides. His glowing hair flickered at the first touch of a wind that quickly rose to a shrill scream.

Ladybug clutched Chat’s arm. She’d never seen anything like the massive vortex of wind screaming down at them, greenish lightning crackling where it emerged from the black clouds; lighting the rooftop in a hellish glare.

Lewis braced himself, flames curling around his hands like a living thing. Pink fire surged around them, rising into a vortex that ran counter to the spinning winds of the tornado. Lewis’s feet slid apart and he leaned forward, like he was throwing his weight into something. Ladybug thought if he’d had a jaw, it would have been clenched in concentration. He pushed his hands out and the fiery shield around them expanded, pushing back at the wall of wind. ” _Ai̡r̕ ̧f̴ę͞e̵͡ds͟ ͘͞f̢͢͞i͢͝r͏e͡,̸̧͢"҉_  he snarled, flames surging higher.

Ladybug’s relief was short-lived when Chat’s claws dug into her wrist. She followed the gaze of his widened eyes to where the bottom of the funnel nearly touched the water still surrounding the building. Water to put out Lewis’s protective wall! Hoping it would be something she could figure out in seconds, Ladybug flung her yoyo upwards. “Lucky Charm!”

A red-spotted crossbow, foam-ended dart already nocked into place, dropped into her waiting hands. “Really?” She glared down at the useless thing, fingers tightening almost painfully around it. “What am I supposed to do with a toy?! Even if it could get through the winds, what’s this gonna do?” She almost screamed with frustration, strangling down the sound before it could escape.

“Ladylove, you can do this.” Chat reassured quietly in her ear, his hands tight around her shoulders. “You know you can.”

Gulping a painful breath, she nodded, forcing herself to look around for inspiration. Her attention fell on Lewis, holding the shrieking winds at bay and her resolve strengthened. Her gaze darted to Arthur, then to the right, alighting on a length of hollow steel pipe torn loose from its mooring, and then across the wall of winds at Disaster Caster. Her eyes fastened on the small scratch on his visor. It was desperate and foolish, and if it didn’t work, she was all out of options. “Chat, I need that pipe. Arthur, how’s your throwing arm?”

Chat scrambled for the long pipe while Arthur shot her a confused look. “Not too bad. My mechanical arm has fluid hydraulics, so I can get a pretty good distance with it. But throwing anything into that…” He gestured helplessly at the howling winds,

She forced her spine to straighten. “I have a plan.”

Chat returned with the pipe and she passed it to Arthur, who hefted it uncertainly. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

She turned her attention to Lewis. “I need height for this. Can I use your shoulders?”

Lewis didn’t turn his attention from the struggle to hold the line, giving Ladybug a single, tight nod.

She vaulted easily up to his shoulders, finding her balance on the broad expanse. Crouching, she spoke softly to Lewis. “Trust me.”

One lambent eye flickered in her direction and he gave her a second nod.

“When I give the word, drop the shield and give me one solid blast,” She flicked a finger in the direction of Disaster Caster. “I need you to disrupt the winds just enough for Arthur to chuck that pipe.”

Lewis’s gaze touched on Arthur and Vivi. “I’m trusting you to keep them safe.” His tone lost that echo and was full of concern. “And yourselves.”

She couldn’t let any doubt show. ”I will.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug saw the water being sucked into the bottom of the funnel and knew her time had just run out. “Now!”

Lewis dropped the swirling fire shield, wind shrieking around them. With every bit of fire he had, he flung a singular inferno blast at the wall of raging wind between them and Disaster Caster.

Arthur didn’t hesitate, launching the pipe like a javelin into the disruption in the winds. It flew straight and true, and Ladybug used Lewis’s shoulders to vault into the air, tracking on the pipe. She only had one chance at this and she didn’t dare blow it. Her whole world narrowed to the pipe in front of her and the trigger in her hands. She could almost sense when the end of the pipe punched through the outer wall of wind. In a moment of crystal clarity, it all snapped into place and she pulled the trigger.

The dart sailed through the pipe, safe from the fury of the winds and exited beyond the gale. It hit just where she had aimed, that tiny mark she had seen Disaster Caster slap before. The tornado vortex vanished like the hailstorm before it.

The silence was deafening after the scream of the winds until bits of debris that had been caught in the gale began to clatter back down, hitting rooftops or splashing into the receding surge of water the vortex had begun to draw up.  Ladybug landed softly beside Lewis, the lucky charm dangling loosely in shaking fingers.

Vivi whooped and yanked Arthur and Chat into a hug.

Lewis went to one knee, his flames dimming and Ladybug knew the battle had drained too much of his energy. She dropped beside him. “Are you—?”

There was a hint of a smile in his strange eyes. “I’ll manage. Can you get to him before he calls up something else?”

“Right.” Ladybug threw herself for the edge of the roof, her yoyo stretching out for purchase on the other building. She was acutely conscious she only had limited time left before her transformation dropped.

Disaster Caster was waiting for her, perched on the side of a chimney like some sort of twisted spider. Her feet hit the roof and she flung herself at him, hoping she could finish this quickly. He easily scaled higher before she could reach him.

She never saw it coming. Suddenly pain exploded across her side, flinging her to the tiles. A second impact flung her farther and she rolled to soften the impact, scrabbling for her scattered wits. She made it to cover behind a broken staircase, pressing one hand against the ache in her side. Her suit protected her from the worst of it, but that had hurt!

What had hit her? Disaster Caster had been too far away to reach her, even with those long spidery legs.

There was a thump beside her and Chat grabbed her, yanking her to one side. “Look out, Milady!” His baton whirred through the air to knock something small and fast back.

Ladybug finally managed to bring her yoyo up as a shield, allowing her a glimpse at what had attacked her. Those little spy cameras! They hovered around her and Chat like a swarm of angry metallic hornets.

Chat blocked one with his baton and growled under his breath. “He’s getting away.”

Sure enough, Disaster Caster was using the distraction of the drone cameras to scramble away over the rooftops, moving far too fast on those spindly metal legs. Ladybug knocked two of the cameras back and took off after him, Chat hot on her heels, and covering her back with swings of his baton. Her earrings beeped their first warning and she pushed her speed, trying to catch up to him before she ran out of time.

The spy-cameras regrouped in front of them, buzzing down in lightning fast attacks and forcing them to slow and dodge. The little cameras were damnably fast and every hit they scored stung fiercely. Disaster Caster kept getting farther away with every attack and Ladybug’s earring beeped two more warnings before she lost sight of him entirely. She paused in the shelter of a staircase, panting and furious at herself for being unable to reach him. Chat landed beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, warning softly, “Ladylove, we have to get you away from here so you can detransform safely and let Tikki recharge!”

“But—” she protested angrily.

“Shhh. As soon as we get you safely away from those things, I’ll get back on his track. I haven’t used Cataclysm yet, so I have time still. At the very least, I’m a purr-fect distraction.” His grinned at her, raising an eyebrow.

The familiarity of his joking dragged a weak laugh out of her. “Okay, Kitty. You win.”

Turning away from the direction Disaster Caster had gone, she flung out her yoyo and headed for a part of the city where she knew there were sheltered rooftop gardens to give her cover while she was vulnerable. Chat followed at a short distance, keeping watch for the cameras, which seemed to have lost interest when she stopped chasing after their master.

At the last second she landed, tumbling a little as her transformation gave out before she was safely down. She wrapped herself around Tikki, willing to take a bruise of two for the sake of her Kwami.

Chat caught her before she hit, a warm arm around her waist stopping her from faceplanting on the roof. Still cradling Tikki, she looked up into his concerned green eyes. “I’m okay, Kitty.”

He nodded and pulled her against his chest, Tikki tucked safely between them. “Get out of sight and take care of Tikki. I’ll stay on his trail.” He pulled her into the shelter of a vine-covered arbor.

She freed one hand and reached up to cup his cheek. “Be careful, my kitty. I’m pretty sure he still has tricks up his sleeves.”

Chat leaned into her touch. “Don’t worry about me, princess. This cat still has tricks of his own.” He bent to steal a breathtaking kiss, leaving her flushed and red. Dropping a second kiss on the tip of her nose, he saluted with two fingers and leapt away.

Still blushing, Marinette dug in her purse for cookies for Tikki. The quicker they recharged, the faster they could take down Disaster Caster.

Her phone chirped a message and she fumbled for it.  Who—?

V:  _Where are you two?_

Vivi! Marinette hurried to type back.  _CN still on DC’s trail. LB had to recharge. Will be back in game soon._

It was safest to not use names or refer to anything too personal. There was always a chance of another electronics based Akuma, like Lady Wifi, could get into personal info through phones. Her communicator amd Chat’s were secure but she could trust nothing else to be. But sometimes concern won out over caution.  _How is Ghost?_ She tapped out, knowing Vivi would know who she meant.  _Fight took a lot out of them._

The dots that indicated typing popped up almost before she had finished.  _Recouping. Will be back in fight soon too. F and UKS on foot now that floodwaters gone. Z is eyes in the sky._

It took Marinette a solid minute to parse it out. Oh, F had to mean Vivi and the temporary name of Frost she had given herself and UKS had to be Arthur and his pun of a name. Zippi was acting as lookout.

 _Stay safe,_  she texted back, and glanced over at where Tikki was finishing off the last few bites of a cookie that had been larger than she was. Tikki wiped crumbs off her face and nodded. Relieved she could get back out there, Marinette called the magic, and took off after her partner as fast as her yoyo would carry her.

She heard the fight before she saw it, and her heart crawled up in her throat. She knew that sound. Knew it too well. It had nearly cost her Chat Noir once before, that crackle of unharnessed electricity and the roar of superheated air that followed so closely after it that it was almost a single continuous sound.  The hair on the back of her neck stood up and the smell of ionized air stuck in the back of her throat like ash.

It had only been her Lucky Charm that had kept lightning from frying her kitty before and right now, he was on his own against an electrical storm that lit the sky with dazzling radiance. Her blood ran cold. She needed to get to him before—

The air screamed. A bolt of lightning, brighter than any she had seen before, tore the sky asunder. The roar that followed vibrated her teeth in her skull, and caused the roof under her flying feet to tremble.

She pushed herself faster.  _Please,_  she prayed under her breath.  _Please, please, **please**  don’t use your baton, Kitty._ The metal would act as a conductor, carrying millions of volts straight into her partner’s flesh.

She didn’t see it coming. Something scorched the roof under her feet and brutally threw her back. She collided hard with a railing and nearly went over it before a clawed hand closed painfully tight around her wrist and yanked her back to safety against a heaving chest. “That was rather electrifying, Milady!”

“Chat,” She could breathe again. Her hands came up to clutch his biceps, digging in hard enough to reassure herself that he was there, was okay. And then she threw both of them into a tumbling roll across the roof, as lightning seared where they had been black.

Chat bounced to his feet, tugging her up after him. “Shocking development, you falling for me.”

She whipped them around and out of the way of another finger of lightning that blistered the tiles where they had just been. “Is this really the time?”

He grinned, dropping to all fours and darting a crazy, zig-zagging path across the roof, flickers of lightning splintering all around him, but unable to catch him. “C’mon, Milady! I am amped for this lightshow! I have a full volt of puns.” he teased breathlessly. “Let me conduct a few your way!”

She snorted at him, and bounced away from a bolt that arced over the rail where she had just been perched. “Just no grounding you, is there, Kitty?”

His green eyes glittered and Chat barked a startled, delighted laugh. He sprang for her and whirled them both out of the path of another volley of lightning. “I knew my puns would rub off on you, Milady!”

Ladybug wrapped her arm around his waist and used her yoyo to vault them to another roof. “Oh, now that was bad, Chat!”

“Have no ampere, my Lady. I have zingers for days!” Chat leapt away from her, his voice turning taunting. “Watt’s the matter, Caster? You currently running out of juice? What a kilo-joy!”

“Aren’t you just full of spark, kid?” A laughing voice called.

Ladybug whipped her head around. Lewis, Arthur and Vivi in either arm, hovered just above the level of the roof. He looked a little transparent, but his fiery eyes were full of determination.

Lewis had to dodge a bolt a split-second later, and shot a vicious glare at where Disaster Caster was perched on a different roof. “He’s really starting to get on my nerves.”

“Not terribly shocked, big guy,” Arthur chided while Vivi giggled softly. “It’s a bit of a revolting development.”

“Don’t make me drop you.”

Chat snickered.

Lewis came in close, though he didn’t land. “We need to take the storm out of play,” Arthur said. “I have an idea for that, but it’ll only hold until he switches tacks.”

Ladybug skipped away from another finger of lightning. “Willing to risk it. I’m not fond of the idea of getting electrocuted.”

Arthur’s mouth set in a firm line. “Okay. new game plan. Big guy, find a sheltered spot to put me down. Ladybug, Chat, keep playing keep away from the lightning. I’ll need to borrow Chat’s baton, though.”

If a ghost could be said to go pale, Lewis managed it, his skeletal face horror-stricken. “No—!”

“Not time for debate, love,” Arthur’s grim face and raised hand stopped the protest. “As long as I’m not in the direct line of fire, I’ll be okay, Rubber-soled shoes. Handy in a garage, invaluable in the here and now.”

“Ar—” Ladybug cut herself off. “It’s dangerous, even so. You can’t dodge the lightning like Chat and I.”

The laugh that answered her was humorless. “Trust me, I’m a shaking wreck inside, but I can have a panic attack later.” His amber eyes met hers through the mask, fey and sending a shiver down her spine. “Protecting people I care for comes before anything else.” He turned his head away, focusing that unnerving look on Lewis. “How you holding up? Good enough to conjure up something?”

“What do you need?” Lewis’s voice was flat with only a hint of that disturbing otherness to give away his distress.

“Copper wire, as much as you can manage.”

“You can’t ground out an electrical storm!” Vivi grabbed the front of Arthur’s shirt, white-knuckled.

Arthur carefully disengaged her fingers. “No, but I can ground out enough of the lightning to give us a chance to get through.”

“I don’t like this plan.”

“Join the club.”

Another volley of lightning hit the rooftop, forcing them all to dodge.

“No time like the present, big guy,” Arthur’s voice was strained.

Chat hissed but turned his attention to mocking the Akuma, “Your bad aim is shocking. You aren’t even trying! Really are a disaster, aren’t you?”

He had to move fast to avoid the next round of lightning.

Her eyes on Chat, as usual, trying to take blows for her, Ladybug lost sight of the other three.

For several moments, there was no room for thought, only the need to keep one jump ahead of the deadly bolts searing the roofs around them.

“Baton!” Arthur’s voice shouted from somewhere to her left.

Chat’s baton went one way and he went the other, only just managing to let go of the metal before lightning found them both.

The baton skittered away across the roof tiles, sparking with residual energy from the strike. Ladybug heard Arthur cursing under his breath, but had no attention to spare for him as she yanked Chat out of the way of another strike that came so close she could feel her hair standing on end. The suits could protect them somewhat, but she wasn’t willing to find out the extent.

Ladybug rolled them out of the path of another strike, this one arcing along the railing beside them, leaving the metal twisted and warped in its wake.

Ladybug yelped and struck out violently when something touched her arm. She twisted and found herself looking into the mournful yellow eyes of a deadbeat. It chirred softly and vanished. She felt it ease into her mind— but it wasn’t trying to control her. Images came into her thoughts of her own hands winding wire around a part of the building’s superstructure, making sure the wire was in contact with the metal supports. She saw the baton extended, channeling the lightning into the building’s metal structure and away from them, giving them the chance to get to Disaster Caster before he could change tactics.

It was a sound plan, even if she didn’t like how much danger Arthur was putting himself in to give them the chance.  She got a sense of wry agreement from the deadbeat and an image of Lewis standing by to yank him out of danger. That eased her worries a bit and she gave her wordless assent to the plan. She felt the deadbeat leave and found herself staring into the worried eyes of Chat, who had pulled them into the shelter of a satellite dish. “Milady?” he questioned warily. “Your eyes, they were pink!”

She touched his cheek. “I’m okay, Kitty. Lewis was letting me know Arthur’s plan through one of the deadbeats,” She peered out past the edge of the dish and spotted the coil of wire on the roof, not far away. “I need you to be on your toes and keep moving so Disaster Caster doesn’t have a chance to concentrate on me.”

Chat Noir shook himself a little before nodding. “You needn’t ask twice, Milady. I can be the purr-fect distraction, like I said.”

Ladybug smiled at him. “I know. I trust you. Just keep safe, my kitten.”

The smile he flashed her was bright. “On my honor.”

He bounded away, catcalling up at Disaster Caster. Ladybug had to look away from the streaks of white-hot electricity tearing up the roof barely a breath behind him. When Disaster Caster had turned all his attention (and that of his electrical storm) on Chat, she crept out of hiding, tucking and rolling to come up with the coil of copper wire in her hands. She muttered a soft prayer to anything that might be listening, be they Kwami or something else, to keep everyone safe and sprang into action.

With her yoyo, it was a matter of moments to wind the wire around the building, at last landing by a spot where the near-constant lightning strikes had bared a large chunk of the building’s metal superstructure. She eeled into the rubble and began working her wire around and around the steel rebar.

She could hear Chat’s mocking and the roar of superheated air and it was all she could do to keep her mind on the task at hand. At last she twisted the final coil of the wire into place. Ladybug pulled herself free of the debris and flung her yoyo. She had to be in the air and ready when it went down. “Now!” she called, her voice barely audible above the roar of thunder.

Arthur must have been waiting for it. Chat’s baton speared up into the stormy sky and the lightning jumped to it like iron filings to a magnet. Ladybug yanked hard on her string and sailed into the air, snagging up a panting Chat Noir as she did. She didn’t dare look for the others, hoping Lewis had gotten them safely out of the way. She had to stop Disaster Caster.

He was already moving, but she was faster, having been waiting for the moment. She launched Chat, who smoothly flipped in mid-air to drive his boots into Disaster Caster’s gut.

Disaster Caster reeled back, only the telescoping legs from his backpack keeping him from going over. Chat snarled in frustration and took a swipe with his claws at Disaster Caster’s mirrored visor. The Akuma wasn’t able to recover fast enough from the kick and Chat’s claws scored thin lines across the surface of the visor.

Ladybug looked up, startled, as the roar of thunder ceased, leaving her ears ringing with the cessation of the constant sound.  Only a few wisps of cloud remained in the clearing sky. Chat’s attack had taken out the threat of the storm.

Disaster Caster staggered back another step, but one of his metal legs lashed out and hit Chat hard in the ribs, flinging him back. Chat landed in a crouch, but he was out of breath and pressed an arm across his ribs with a hiss of pain.

Ladybug swung in between them, her yoyo lashing out and cracking solidly across Disaster Caster’s visor. She rushed to pull Chat back to his feet, concerned at the grimace of pain. “Kitty?”

His grin was lopsided but he straightened up. “I’m okay, Milady. Only winded.”

“Are you sure?” She didn’t miss how he was favoring the spot where he’d been hit.

“He’s a disaster in more ways than one, Milady. I’m still good to go.”

Disaster Caster had used her distraction to get some distance on them, metal legs carrying him like a spider up the side of the next building over. Chat cursed under his breath, words she didn’t think Adrien even knew. “I’ll be honest, Milady, I’m more than ready to be done with this particular pain, though.”

“You and me both, Kitty.” Ladybug narrowed her eyes at the Akuma. “I think I know what we need to do.”

“What you need to do is stop fighting me and give up your miraculous. Then Paris will be safe.” Disaster Caster called.

“No one asked you,” Chat hissed.

“All this fighting is doing is hurting the people you claim to be here to protect.”

“And you think Hawkmoth would do better if he had our miraculous? He’s the one creating all the evil we have to fight against.”

“What if your refusal to give over your miraculous were to hurt someone you cared for?” Disaster Caster said. He raised one hand, palm up, and one of his little spy-cameras alighted in it.

“Wouldn’t they be happier knowing you were out of danger and not fighting Akuma?” An image formed in the air above the little drone.  Half hidden in a bower of greenery, it was a frozen tableau of Marinette in Chat’s arms, tilting her face up to meet his passionate kiss. Ladybug flinched, though some part of her was objectively glad that Tikki was hidden between them. “Wouldn’t  _she_  be happier?” Disaster Caster coaxed.

Chat froze beside her, his green eyes blown so wide they were all pupil. His mouth opened but nothing emerged. Ladybug could feel his muscles vibrating with tension and his hands were clenched so tight she could hear the leather of his gloves creaking. While the fact that Disaster Caster had caught the picture concerned her, Chat’s reaction was more than a little frightening.

Ladybug touched his arm. “Kitty—?”

All that suppressed tension snapped at once and with a feral yowl, Chat flung himself in a mad leap toward Disaster Caster.

 ** _“You!”_** How a word that was all vowels could be hissed, Ladybug didn’t know but Chat managed it.

Chat hit the wall next to the Akuma, claws sinking easily into the brick. His lips peeled back from his teeth in an infuriated growl. Ladybug could swear she saw fangs in his snarl.  "How  _dare_  you?!“

Ladybug swung after Chat, stunned by the rage she saw in his green eyes. Before she could reach him, he had leapt at Disaster Caster. The Akuma tried to fend him off with two of the spider-like legs from his backpack, but Chat’s claws made short work of them, shearing them off with quick swipes.

"How dare you?” he snarled again, his voice dropping to a register she had never heard from his mouth, a feral growl like the scream of a hunting cat.

Ladybug saw his claws crook to strike and for a second they appeared to glimmer with the first hint of his destructive power. The next word out of his mouth was a hissed “Cataclysm!”

His target was Disaster Caster’s helmet and his hand hit it so hard it rocked the Akumatized man’s head back into the brick wall behind him. Destructive power crawled over the helmet, leaving ash in its wake. A black butterfly fluttered weakly away, wings struggling to keep it airborne.

Ladybug snapped her yoyo out and caught it before it had managed to get very far at all. She purified it without any ceremony, most of her attention still on Chat’s enraged face.

He was breathing hard, struggling to calm himself, she could tell. His claws still hovered millimeters from Disaster Caster’s now bare face.

“Kitten?” She called softly.

The tension went out of him and he dropped away from the former Akuma like a marionette with cut strings. She hurriedly caught him out of the air.

His breath was hot against her throat as he whispered so softly she could barely hear him. “I’m sorry.”

It was with relief she saw Lewis catch the dazed man who had been one of their toughest battles ever.  Lewis gathered him up in one arm. “I’ll take him down to street level so the first responders can help him.”

“Who…?” The confused man squinted at Lewis’s skeletal face.

“A friend,” Lewis soothed. “Let’s get you down where you’ll be safe.”

Ladybug nodded in acknowledgement of Lewis’s words, but all her attention was on her partner. She dropped them back down to the roof. “Kitty, tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

He looked up at her, green eyes full of pain, and not because of his injuries. “Just fix everything, Milady. Maybe…”

Whatever it was, she could do no less for him. It was a rare thing to summon her Lucky Charm in the aftermath of a fight, but she didn’t hesitate. The charm that dropped into her hand was a handkerchief, and she really didn’t want to think about the meaning of that. She gently used it to wipe Chat’s sweating face before tossing it up in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The swarm of ladybugs was larger by far than ever before, but this time there was so much damage to undo. She watched damaged structures right themselves and buckled streets smooth out. The lightning-torn roof around them reformed, and she felt the tickle as they swirled around her and Chat, healing injuries in their wake. A pair of glasses chinked softly to the tiles, the object the Akuma had infected.

“I’ll never get tired of seeing that!” Vivi said softly, hanging over the railing to watch the city being restored.

Chat watched the magic of the Miraculous Cure sweep away the damages, his expression a sort of troubled yearning. When the last of the ladybugs had vanished, he rose and padded to his baton, now lying discarded on the roof, pausing to unwrap the copper wire from one end. He slid the screen open and began tapping. With one last tap, he took a deep breath before starting to read what was on the screen. Whatever it was made his face fall with every swipe of his thumb.

Ladybug rose to her feet and trotted to his side, curious and concerned. “Kitty?”

He slid the screen closed and turned to draw her into a fiercely tight hug. “I am so, _so_ sorry, Ladylove.”

“Chat…” She didn’t understand what had him so troubled. “Tikki, spots off,” she breathed, and reached up to cup his cheeks with bare hands, hoping skin to skin contact could offer some comfort.

He pressed into her touch, a rough, stuttering purr starting in his throat. It wasn’t a happy sound, but the kind of sound a sick cat made to soothe itself. She _hated_ to hear it from him.

Marinette went up on her toes to press a kiss on his forehead. Chat sighed heavily, his arms tightening around her waist.

In her purse, her phone began to let out a long series of chirps, both missed call notifications and text tones. Marinette tried to ignore it, more concerned about Chat and his distress. At least until Tikki dived into her bag and pulled out the phone. The Kwami’s overlarge eyes widened and she made an alarmed sound. “Marinette, I think you should look at this.”

“Not now, Tikki.” Marinette pled. She hated to ignore her Kwami but at the moment, her love needed her more.

Tikki made a frustrated sound.

Chat heaved another sigh and pushed her away gently. His eyes were damp and the hurt in them made her heart ache. She reached out for him, but he caught her hands. “I never wanted this for you.” He accepted the phone from Tikki and closed her fingers around it.

“Chat…”

“I am so sorry, Princess.”

“What for—?”

“Forgetting that a black cat is bad luck.” He tapped a claw on her phone and without her willing it, her eyes tracked down to it.

Her homescreen was absolutely filled with notifications. Twenty-four missed calls? And the text notifications numbered more than fifty. What—?

She unlocked the phone, her fingers shaking a little. What had happened while she was battling the Akuma. Had the Miraculous cure not been enough to fix all the damage? What if someone was hurt? Mama or Papa? Alya?

There were seventeen missed calls from Alya alone, and that eased a little of the tightness in her chest. Two were from different unknown numbers. Two from the bakery’s line and one each from her Mama and Papa’s respective cell phones. And oddly enough, one from Nadja Chamak. There were ten new voicemails and fifty-seven texts from Alya. There was also a text from Rose, simply a heart-eyes emoji and, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

She scrolled to the earliest text from Alya, consisting of a keysmash and a blurry photograph of a tv screen. Even with the blur from what had to be Alya shaking, she recognized the image, the same one Disaster Caster had shown Chat that had triggered his enraged attack. Herself; passionately kissing Chat Noir.

Her knees wobbled and Chat was quick to support her. “He… he broadcast us kissing—?”

Arthur cursed, prompting Lewis to cover his mouth, but the blond man just shoved the ghost’s large hand away. “Hell with my language, Lewis. Even I know what the fuck that means. One fell swoop just put Marinette on everybody’s radar, including Hawkmoth’s. She’s locking lips with one of the heroes of this city. That’s like pinning on a huge target on her. Not only for the supervillain in town to take shots at but every single wanna-be newshound and paparazzi in a hundred-mile radius of Paris.”

Marinette’s legs gave out. “I am so, so very screwed.”


End file.
